Dear Editor,
As Chair of the Ashcroft-Clinton Transit Committee, I was troubled to read the headline on the March 3 front page of The Journal: “Transit is an issue for Better At Home”. In addition, the accompanying quote, “Transit is a real thorn in our side,” puzzled me.
I read the article several times and could not find what precisely the issue was with transit. Ms Kendall of BAH describes the community bus as “wonderful” and goes on to accurately describe the service it provides. She also indicated she promotes the community bus wherever she can.
There appears to be a lack of volunteer drivers from Cache Creek. Perhaps this is where the statement “If Better At Home clients could use the community bus, it would take a lot of pressure off our drivers” becomes the issue.
In 2012, the Village of Cache Creek chose to no longer be a part of the area transit system. Since that time, a number of changes and improvements have been made to the community bus service, including Monday trips to and from Kamloops. The partners in the service—the Village of Clinton, TNRD Area I, and the Village of Ashcroft—have made a presentation to the Village of Cache Creek inviting them to consider rejoining the transit system.
If there are any issues that area residents have with respect to transit, I invite them to contact their respective representatives. I can be reached at amertens@ashcroftbc.ca.
Al Mertens
Councillor, Village of Ashcroft