When B.C. Transit offered vastly expanded services to Pemberton and Whistler through February 2010, local residents responded with enthusiasm, and officials noticed.

B.C. Transit spokesperson Maureen Sheehan said the company sold more than 1,000 Pemberton passes for the expanded and discounted February services, and the transit system was well used by area residents.

“There was significant uptake from the people of Pemberton with the enhanced service levels offered. We believe that they appreciated the increased convenience,” Sheehan said, adding that B.C. Transit had “great feedback” from riders of the Pemberton service.

She said the mark of more than 1,000 passes sold to Pemberton residents was a “significant amount.”

B.C. Transit reported in a statement that it served more than 1.5 million customers in the Sea to Sky region through Olympic month, of which at least 60 per cent were accredited staff with the Vancouver Olympic organizing committee and Olympic spectators.

Pemberton Mayor Jordan Sturdy said riding the February buses was “a real highlight for me” within the Games experience, and several Pemberton councillors echoed his appreciation of the expanded services at their March 2 meeting. Sturdy said the community’s embrace of the February transit system showed that “obviously Pemberton is willing to get on the bus,” and if the regular system were more like that, “I would be taking it all the time.”

Sturdy said he heard from senior B.C. Transit officials that they were “incredibly impressed” with the response from Pemberton-area residents, who purchased more bus passes than even the much larger community of Squamish, to the tune of about 30 per cent more.

Sturdy said he encountered transit officials such as President and CEO Manuel Acadinha and Steve New, vice-president of operations, while he was waiting for buses at the Gondola Transit Exchange, and he found them to be “very responsive and receptive” while complimenting Pemberton’s embrace of the transit services.

Sturdy said he’s been encouraged to meet with provincial officials to discuss further funding for transit services. At the March 2 council meeting, he said local officials will “certainly make that argument” but are uncertain whether any additional money would be available.

Sturdy noted that Pemberton’s regular transit services were to be the subject of a review this month, which should lead to discussions about how to improve and maximize opportunities within the current system, and he’ll encourage locals to contribute their thoughts.

Russell Mack, works manager for the Village of Pemberton, said the park-and-ride service administered by the village ran smoothly to accompany the expanded bus system, and he heard “lots of good compliments” about both services.

With an average use of between 130 and 180 vehicles per day, the park and ride was full of people from the Pemberton area and all over North America, as many people staying in Pemberton for Games events or volunteering seemed to use the park and ride and bus, Mack said.

“Everyone that was in the park and ride, everyone was just in a really happy mood,” he said.

He said the B.C. Transit planners were responsive in adjusting the bus schedule according to needs throughout the Games, and though officials were initially uncertain how much demand to expect for the park and ride, “it just worked out really well.”