FORT ST. JOHN -- Starting September 3rd, classes will be back in session in Fort St. John and students will be looking for reliable ways to get around the city.
Public transit is one of those options with BC Transit announcing a fall service change that will reintroduce annual school routes.
"We're moving some resources away from the Route 2 Southside and the Route Three Central Prospect Park and moving them to the Route 4 Southeast and Route Five Southwest to make sure that we're providing additional trips for people that want to take transit to get to K-12 school or post-secondary," said Jamie Weiss, Public Affairs Advisor with BC Transit.
Construction on 100th Street, expected to be completed by September 30th, will continue to affect stops between 100th Avenue and 105th Avenue, which will remain closed until the work is finished.
BC Transit shares the cost of operating buses with the city, with Councillor Trevor Bolin saying they are committed to making Fort St. John a dependable transit hub.
"What we were able to hear from the folks who were relying on transit for their children's school, for their work, for their livelihood, was do better, make it better, so that was what we rolled out to do," said Bolin.
BC Transit says there’s a significant increase in ridership, with approximately 800 people using the bus daily around the city.
Safety is a top concern for parents, but the transit agency assures that their children are in good hands.
"Your kids are getting on the bus and going off to school-- It's kind of an exciting time for parents but it's also a time of concern," said Weiss, who is encouraging parents to speak to the bus driver when it is safe to do so should they need to feel more at ease.
When it comes to payment, transit riders can use the new electronic payment method ‘Umo,’ launched in Fort St. John this April.
"This is a digital fare payment program that allows people to either use the app on their mobile device or a reloadable Umo card, which basically acts as cash and they can keep topping up that card," said Weiss.
Whether paying with cash or Umo the fare remains $2, and kids under 12 ride for free. BC Transit is also working to remove barriers for transit riders with Umo’s day pass feature.
"It maxes out at two trips a day so you'll never pay more than two trips a day. If you get on the bus three or four times it's still that $4 maximum," said Weiss.
Umo cards are free and can be picked up and reloaded at BC Transit vendor locations such as City Hall and the North Peace Leisure Pool, or downloaded via the app store on iOS or Android devices.
"If people are saving one thing in order to afford another, it could very well be their transportation and city transit is a very cost effective way to do that," said Bolin.
The city has invested nearly a million dollars on transit operations to accommodate higher ridership. BC Transit encourages parents whose kids may be getting on the bus for the first time to take a trip this weekend to help them get comfortable riding the bus, and understand when and where to get on and off.
"This is a great opportunity for people to try public transit and for people with kids to get them used to taking public transit... it is a lifelong skill," said Weiss.
