WATCH: Rails and sails potential solutions for Sea to Sky's public transit woes, MLA says

Travelling between communities outside the Lower Mainland almost always involves driving.

Even in growing regions, such as the Sea to Sky corridor, public transit services are few and far between.

Local BC Greens MLA Jeremy Valeriote has made it clear he believes it's past time the government step up and help his constituents get around efficiently, and affordably.

"In rural BC, you're pretty much stuck without a car," he told Sitka Media. "We used to have BC Rail running up to Prince George and beyond, Greyhound ran a pretty decent bus system — it wasn't the best, but it got the job done for a lot of people."

Valeriote lamented that "since Greyhound left in 2018 — like a lot of places in BC — in the Sea to Sky we’ve been left with really nothing."

While there are private operators shuttling people between YVR Airport, downtown Vancouver, Squamish, and Whistler, he pointed out that they cater mostly to tourists and are "not an affordable option that you would use to commute to work every day, go to a medical appointment, or something like that."

Citing the region's rising population and increasingly busy highway, Valeriote argued that giving people more transportation options was "entirely feasible."

"It's a great target for a public transit pilot or a public transit service that would help a lot of people, make a huge difference in affordability, keep congestion down, and go towards equity and economic development," he added. "It's one of the easiest slam dunk public policy pieces in the province."

Valeriote said he would "love to see" passenger rail make a comeback in the Sea to Sky corridor, noting that CN's plan to not renew a lease on tracks between Squamish and 100 Mile House presented a perfect opportunity to explore the possibility.

"It looks like there’s probably some short-line operators that are interested," he added. "Freight is a necessary component, but we’re hoping that’ll also result in some passenger service at least as far as Whistler, Pemberton, and then as demands grows maybe we can even go beyond that."

For thousands of years, humans have navigated the region via the water, rowing up and down Howe Sound for travel, trade, and hunting. These days, while BC Ferries services many coastal communities in BC, there are no ships sailing between Metro Vancouver and Squamish.

Valeriote said a ferry might be exactly what the region needs, noting that he recently rode on a CIRQL Ferries vessel that will soon shuttle passengers between downtown Vancouver, Bowen Island, and Gibsons.

"Their next most obvious place to expand might be Squamish," he added. "It would be great to have a passenger ferry from Squamish to downtown Vancouver. You know the highway is often closed for six to eight hours if there's a really bad accident, and so the waterway and the rail both offer alternatives."