NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release 2008TRAN0085-001658 Oct. 31, 2008	Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure
WATER TAXI AND GROUND SHUTTLE SERVICE INTRODUCED

KELOWNA – Starting Saturday morning, water taxi and ground shuttle service will be available to transport people who are affected by the road closure on Highway 97, announced Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Kevin Falcon.

 

“We know that a lot of people have been inconvenienced, and we are very pleased to team up with BC Transit to deliver this service,” said Falcon. “The ministry is doing everything it can to reopen the highway as quickly as possible, but we will only reopen when it’s safe to do so. In the interim, this water taxi service will provide another way to help people get to where they need to go.”

 

Starting Saturday, Nov. 1, two 75-passenger water taxis will be available to transport people around the road closure area. There will be hourly sailings, with the first trip leaving at 5 a.m., and the last trip leaving at 9 p.m. The service will be free, and it will continue seven days a week, until the highway is reopened.

 

BC Transit will deliver a ground shuttle, which will transport passengers to and from the water taxi service, connecting people with the Westbank-Kelowna area and the Summerland-Penticton area.

 

“BC Transit, along with our partners in Kelowna and Penticton, is pleased to provide this additional service,” said Manuel Achadinha, BC Transit president and CEO. “This vital service will continue to link communities during the highway closure.”

 

Detailed schedules and maps of transit stops are available online at www.drivebc.ca, by following the link to the Highway 97 Closure Information page. There is also a 24 hour information line, at 250-712-3678.

 

Highway 97 just north of Summerland has been closed since Friday, Oct. 24, due to the discovery of a large fissure on a rock slope above the highway. 

 

Traffic is being detoured via Highways 97C, 5A, 3 and 3A. This is the recommended route for heavy commercial trucks. An additional route from Penticton to Kelowna is available, via the Okanagan Falls Forest Service Road, and Highway 33. The ministry has upgraded the Okanagan Falls Forest Service Road for public use. It's a gravel forest service road and travellers should expect winter conditions and drive at reduced speeds.

 

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1 backgrounder(s) attached.
Media contact:	Dave Crebo Communications Director Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure 250 387-7787
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