Queensborough’s MLA says bus service to New Westminster Secondary School is still on his radar – though it’s taking longer than he expected.
Aman Singh, who represents Richmond-Queensborough in the B.C. legislature, promised during the 2020 provincial election campaign that an NDP government would provide free, dedicated TransLink buses to take Queensborough students to and from NWSS.
That has yet to happen.
“We are still working on it,” Singh told the Record on Friday.
Singh admitted that, before becoming part of government, he had no idea how much time would be involved in such a plan.
“They have to go through treasury board, finance committees, all those things. The plan is there,” he said. “It’s also a bit complicated because it deals with TransLink, school board and Ministry of Transportation.”
The issue has long been of concern to the New Westminster school district because, with only one high school in the district, students living in Queensborough must make their way to NWSS on the mainland. That leaves families relying on a patchwork of regular public transit, private vehicles or cycling.
The distance from the Queensborough neighbourhood to the high school doesn’t meet the minimum standard for regular Ministry of Education school bus funding, but New Westminster’s geography – with the island neighbourhood relying on one bridge to the mainland – complicates the commute.
The issue was acknowledged in the district’s recently updated long-range facilities plan.
“There has been a growing need for improved transportation from Queensborough to New Westminster Secondary School, due to the geographical remoteness of the Queensborough community, which is beyond reasonable walk limits, requiring secondary students to navigate over a busy and often congested highway bridge crossing on their way to school,” the plan notes.
The New West district parent advisory council (DPAC) has also been following the issue. DPAC chair Kathleen Carlsen told trustees at the Nov. 23 school board meeting that the parents’ group had written to Singh urging him to follow up on the busing promise.
Singh told the Record that the plan is working its way “through that bureaucratic financial stuff.”
A timeline for having the buses in place is not yet known.
– with reporting by Theresa McManus
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