UPDATE: NLC students struggle with limited public evening transportation

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Fort St. John council has directed staff to work with BC Transit to extend bus hours to Northern Lights College for students working in the service industry.

The decision came after Linda Mueller, director of ancillary services for the NLC’s Fort St. John campus, penned a letter to councillor Sarah MacDougall, saying students have been facing commuting challenges with public transportation ending at 7 p.m.

The letter was penned on December 20th, shortly after MacDougall, the NLC liaison for the city, met with Mueller and Jessie Drew, vice president of community relations and institutional strategy to discuss their concerns.

“Many of the students do work in the service industry, filling a lot of vacancies we do have in the community. The service industry tends to go later than our bus service does,” said MacDougall during council’s January 8th meeting.

“We want to ensure these folks who are supporting our community by working in it as well as furthering their education are supported to be safe and to able to get back and forth in an efficient and reliable manner.”

MacDougall noted that she wasn’t given a specific time they wanted the bus hours extended to, but said roughly 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. would be ideal.

Council approved a motion for staff to work with BC Transit to support NLC students and bring findings back to council.

In Mueller’s letter, she says challenges with the local public transit schedule create difficulties for students living on campus. 

Mueller explained how students who are from outside Fort St. John live in housing on campus and take public transportation for work and community services in the Energetic City.

“Students also often work in the community to help pay for their education and living expenses and rely on public transportation to get to work,” said Mueller.  

Mueller said extending public transit hours would help students in completing their education.

She believes extending the schedule will allow students to work in the community, which will help pay for their education while also filling employer labour gaps. 

Other benefits include building relationships in the community with recreational opportunities and resources, allowing students who live off campus to attend classes in person and engage with other students,

The policy would also help to ensure students will serve the Fort St. John community in their field of study after graduation according to Mueller’s letter. 

Mueller’s letter to council can be viewed below: