handyDART Service Update

We are pleased to announce that BC Transit has made a change to handyDART service in the region, starting April 2, 2024. handyDART service will be available until 5:30 pm from Monday-Friday. This hour extension is the result of feedback from customers and the need to meet demand.

Requests from the public for increased handyDART service in our community prompted staff to work with BC Transit and with staff at the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine to provide Council with sufficient information on this service. In 2023, staff collaborated with BC Transit to distribute a Custom Transit Survey to all registered handyDART customers of the Terrace system; the results were presented at the May 30, 2023, Committee of the Whole meeting.

Survey results showed 76% of respondents are very satisfied or satisfied with the current handyDART service, 19% are neutral, and 4% are very dissatisfied or dissatisfied with the service. If resources were available to expand the handyDART service, respondents chose later service on weekdays as the highest priority. At the July 24, 2023, Council meeting, following a review of costs associated with a variety of service upgrade options, Council selected a service expansion option that increased those weekday service hours by one hour, to 5:30 pm.

This expansion, which requires an additional 350 service hours per year, added approximately $12,000 to the 2024 budget. It will bring an estimated $974 in annual revenue to the City.

An hour might not sound like much, but it can make a huge difference for those who rely on this service for transportation. We are pleased we could collect public feedback, bring it to Council, and work with BC Transit to make the change.

Read the BC Transit release