Shuttle Review 2007-2008
SUMMARY
Running from December 21st to March 29th, this year's version of the shuttle can be considered a success. Our preliminary figures show that we tallied 5,172 paid fares. We had predicted that the final numbers to be close to 6,000 riders but March proved to be a very slow month. When we chose to charge a fare this year we did anticipate a transition in numbers down from last year and in this respect we were correct.
There are a number of things that impacted total ridership and they will be addressed for next year.
FINANCIALS
Total Operational Costs $35,145
Start-up Costs 3,000
Transit Ads
Schedule Posters
Ski Racks for Bus
Revenue from Advertising $15,000
Revenue from Accommodators 15,500
Revenue from City of Kimberley 5,000
Revenue from fares 10,344
RIDERSHIP LOGS
The drivers kept logs of how many riders were picked up at which stops. The Mark Creek Market/Shoppers stops along with the Platzl stop were central drops from which riders dispersed throughout the downtown area. However the logs did not paint a complete picture and will be augmented next year to detail the large number of drops to locations such as Northstar Mountain Village, The Bauernhaus, the Village Bistro and Werner Theatre/Bowling Alley/Overwaitea.
As expected, the Marriott was the busiest pick-up point at the hill. Riders were logged in at the Marriott but drop offs were not logged. However the drivers observed a fairly even distribution among the various accommodations on the hill.
ISSUES & OPPORTUNITIES
- The reduced ridership in March was a surprise. The drivers felt it was proportional to a lower visitor count. We could only speculate that the timing of the closure of the ski hill lead spring skiers to conclude that the conditions were not good and that they chose to go elsewhere.
- Inghams were not happy that we were charging for the service this year. They had advertised a "free" shuttle and as a result Inghams clients were not encouraged to use the service. This can be rectified next year where it will be clear from the outset that there will be the nominal $2.00 fare.
- Many people chose to walk down from their accommodations to downtown and they would then take the shuttle back up. We noted that the trails were not well marked and we did not promote the trail system as a means for getting into the downtown area. We will look into this for next year.
- Kimberley Transit will receive professional bus stop signs from BC Transit and all stops will have a marker next year.
- The $2.00 fare proved expensive for some families and groups although children under 6 rode for free. We will review this for next year.
- Many people wanted to use the arena but there are no skate rentals available.
- We learned a lot about the hours of operation and have several decisions to make for next year. For example: There was very little demand for early morning service from the accommodators. Also, the shuttle did not run from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm as it had in the past year. We will revisit the demand for these hours of service especially on the weekends.
Making it easy for visitors to get into the downtown area is critical to our business community. I am sure that you will agree that this year's operation provides a strong foundation for an even better service next year. A successful service means a successful business year for you.
On behalf of the Kimberley & District Chamber of Commerce and Kimberley Community Transit, thank you to the businesses that invested in the 2007/2008 Winter Shuttle:
Bavarian Sports & Hardware North Star Mountain Village
BJ's Restaurant & Creekside Pub The Old Bauernhaus
Black Bear Books & Video Overwaitea Foods
Chateau Kimberley Hotel Poser Sports
Chicamon Springs Purcell Rocky Mountain Condos
City of Kimberley Resorts of the Canadian Rockies
The Edge Pub & Hostel Re/max Caldwell Agencies
Fort Steele Heritage Town Rocky's Ride & Glide
Gasthaus Restaurant Shoppers Drug Mart
Husky Gas & Produce Sprout Grocery & Natural Attraction
Kimberley Inn & Suites Subway
Kimberley Lodging Co. Sullivan Pub
Mark Creek Market Village Bistro
Mozart Restaurant Werner Theatre
Don McCormick
President
Kimberley and District Chamber of Commerce
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