Transit Maintenance Facility

A transit maintenance facility provides a location for storage and maintenance of a transit fleet, as well as office space for fleet operations management. The community’s current transit maintenance facility is provided by Squamish PWTransit as part of their contract with BC Transit as the local transit operator.

The Squamish transit maintenance facility is at capacity. PWTransit has secured space on an adjacent lot for additional bus storage, however this arrangement will only provide space for a few years of limited transit expansion. Construction of a new facility is required as no appropriately sized facility exists in Squamish.

A new transit maintenance facility provides a number of important benefits:

• Provides space for future expansion of the local transit system including handyDart
• Provides space for development of a regional transit system
• Provides infrastructure required for battery electric buses

The new facility is proposed to be approximately 28,000 square feet, ideally situated on five acres of land. BC Transit’s process requires that a municipality provide a commitment five years in advance, and that BC Transit will lead construction of the facility. The estimated total project cost is $35M (2021). BC Transit will support the District in building a new facility, including applying for federal funding to cover around 40% of construction costs. The remainder of funding will come from provincial and municipal sources.

Squamish was given the option to provide funds up-front or contribute annually for 30 years. The Real Estate and Facilities Strategy recommends that the District utilize external funding, wherever possible, to preserve borrowing capacity and land dispositions, to enable all projects identified to be completed in a reasonable time period. Therefore, the District has opted to contribute annually for 30 years.

As part of the 2022-2026 Five Year Financial Plan, Council endorsed the inclusion of the $530,000 annual payment beginning in 2026. This was later adjusted to begin in 2027, due to adjustments in BC Transit’s planning process. The cost estimates will likely need to be updated in future budget cycles.

BC Transit and the District continue working together in the planning stages of this project and construction will begin once funding is confirmed and detailed designs are complete.