PIPING UP: The Kamloops Pipe Band Society hosted this year’s annual Southern Interior Spring Fling, which took place in Riverside Park on Saturday, May 3. The annual event is held on the first Saturday in May and rotates between cities in the Interior. Bagpipes sounded despite the wet weather. Allen Douglas/KTW
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Will riding the bus cost more? By Andrea Klassen STAFF REPORTER
andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
CJ FOWLER
DAMIEN TAYLOR
Court date for accused in teen girl’s murder A preliminary hearing has been set for the man accused of killing teenager CJ Fowler. Damien Taylor is charged with second-degree murder in the 2012 death of 16-year-old Fowler, whose body was found in Guerin Creek near downtown Kamloops on Dec. 5, 2012. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10 days, beginning on Sept. 22. Police have said Fowler and Taylor had been involved in a dating relationship at the time and had travelled together from Terrace, where they lived, to Kamloops. The two had been in Kamloops visiting friends and police believe Fowler was planning to return to Terrace prior to her death. Taylor, 22, was arrested after an RCMP investigation that lasted more than a year. On Jan. 10, Mounties took him into custody in Kelowna, where he had been living.
Speak up
The cost of a bus ride in Kamloops could be on its way up. At its spring workshop today (May 6), city council will examine a fare review from BC Transit that shows fare prices in the Tournament Capital are lower than average for communities of similar size, and “may not be capturing the optimum level of revenue per passenger.” A single cash fare in Kamloops is $2.25 but, across other Tier 1 communities — which include Kelowna, Whistler, Prince George and Nanaimo — the average single fare is $2.40. Monthly passes are also about $7 more expensive on average in those communities. The report offers two new fare configurations the city could adopt if it wants to raise fares, though both would likely lead to a decline in the number of bus trips taken per year. Option one would raise all cash fares to $2.25, phasing out the city’s $1.75 seniors’ discount fare. Day and monthly pass rates would not change and seniors would still pay less
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than other riders for books of bus tickets and monthly passes under the new system. BC Transit said a flat-cash fare means bus drivers don’t have to worry about enforcing age restrictions on discounts, or deal with fare disputes that may occur as a result. Though BC Transit estimates the move could decrease ridership numbers in Kamloops by 30,200, the report notes other communities using a single cashfare model have seen an increase in rides. In Victoria, ridership is up 4.5 per cent, the report notes, “possibly in part due to the fact that system users will be encouraged to buy prepaid fare products, and prepaid products tend to encourage more frequent ridership.” The change would bring in an estimated extra $71,000 annually. A second possible fare hike would retain the seniors’ discount for riders pay-
ing in cash, but increase the cost of all other fare types. The increase would see riders paying $2.50 per trip in cash (or $2.25 for seniors), $60 per month for passes instead of $53 and $6.25 for a regular day pass instead of $5. Though monthly passes are more expensive, BC Transit argues the new rate structure makes them a better deal. “Under the present fare structure, adult passengers must take at least 31 trips to want to buy a monthly pass,” the report says. With the increased cash fare, the number of trips needed to justify buying a monthly pass drops to 27. The package of fare increases would bring in $289,700 more for the city per year, but could also lead to 137,100 fewer rides per year. BC Transit is also recommending a HandyDART fare increase. Option one would raise custom transit fares by 25 cents, while option two would increase them by 50 cents. Council won’t make any final decisions about fare structures at today’s workshop, but could choose to ask staff to look more closely at BC Transit’s suggestions and come back with a fare hike at a later date.
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