Why rural Canadians need public transit just as urgently as suburbanites
BBC’s Race Across the World shows contestants trying to make their way around British Columbia without access to rental cars or planes.
- BBC’s Race Across the World shows contestants trying to make their way around British Columbia without access to rental cars or planes.
- BC Transit works with local governments and First Nations to deliver transit services.
- That’s unique in Canada and partly accounts for the relatively large number of rural public transit systems in B.C.
Rural transit needs
- In short, the benefits of accessible, affordable public transit in rural communities are economic, social and environmental.
- In a recent study, my fellow researchers and I identified seven types of rural transit barriers.
- Rural communities need a high level of both human and financial capacity to start and maintain a transit system.
- Low (if any) potential profit means rural transit is often run by local governments or not-for-profit organizations, which require a high level of both human and financial capacity to start and maintain a transit system.
Gaps in our knowledge
There is another issue: gaps within our knowledge base. In a synthesis of rural transit literature in Canada, my fellow researchers and I found three substantial gaps:
Overall, our understanding is narrow and incomplete. So it’s no wonder that we see gaps in the policies and programs created based on this limited understanding.
Government initiatives fall short
- In early 2023, the federal government announced Canada’s Rural Transit Solutions Fund would be accepting applications for capital projects.
- It is flexible in terms of what can be funded by government, and it’s open to innovative ideas.
- The Rural Transit Solutions Fund is just one example of efforts to bolster rural transit that fall short.
Missing the mark
- But there is a continuing misunderstanding of rural realities, particularly relating to available human and financial capacity.
- And if we want the broad benefits of accessible transportation, we need to fund both the buses and the drivers.