We are a non-profit Society that manages the provision of transit services to the residents of the area.
Our goals are to maintain and expand services within the communities surrounding and including the City of Merritt.
The Society was incorporated in Victoria, BC on July 4, 2007. We are unique due to the fact that transit services are supplied to the community and surrounding areas via the Society, whereas BC Transit services are operated by private companies in the remainder of BC.
The transit routes began with one bus and have now expanded services to Merritt and Lower Nicola. We have also grown to four buses, one of which is called a Curb-to-Curb service. This service is provided on a request basis for those who require pickup at their place of residence and transportation to medical appointments. The service is pre-arranged and when the bus is not providing this service it is a second bus on our regular runs.
Our goal, along with the City of Merritt, BC Transit and the TNRD is to provide service to the Coldwater area. This will require a monetary commitment from the BC Transit, the TNRD and the Coldwater Indian Band. This has been in process for a few years but will come to fruition in the future.
The Nicola Valley Transportation Supervisor is employed by the Society, along with the Transit Operators. The Supervisor is a non-union management position and is directed by the Board of Directors. The Transit Operators are members of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) and are governed by the Collective Agreement.
We are located on 2185B Voght Street in the City Hall building.
We have, over the years, purchased benches for the comfort of our riders. The City has installed many shelters as well, but we continue to encourage and/or fund more benches and shelters for the riders.
Ridership continues to increase and in the last year alone has reached approximately 90,000 fares from April 2018 to March 2019. That is an approximate increase of 20% over the 2017/2018 year. You can see that this is a very necessary service in our community!
The Lower Nicola Indian Band is a partner in the services provided to Rocky Pines IR. They have taken on the initiative and installed benches in that area.
We currently have 7 members on the Board of Directors:
- 5 Directors at Large
- 1 Chair
- 1 Past Chair
Our year-end is March 31st and our AGM is usually held in September or October when our financial statements are completed and ready for review.