Bus service coming to Lake Louise, Johnston Canyon
Visitors to Banff National Park will soon be able to catch a public transit bus to tourism hot spots Lake Louise and Johnston Canyon.
The Bow Valley Regional Transit Services Commission, which operates the Roam public transit system in the towns of Banff and Canmore, announced Wednesday that it is launching two more routes. One of those — which will begin Oct. 9 — will be a regional Banff to Lake Louise route, running from downtown Banff to Lake Louise, with stops at the Samson Mall and the Lake Louise Lakeshore.
The route will grow next summer to include stops along the Bow Valley Parkway, including Johnston Canyon and popular campsites. While Parks Canada has offered a summer shuttle service between Banff and Lake Louise during the past two summers, the new Roam service marks the first time transit will be available between the two locations during the fall, winter and spring.
The existing Parks Canada shuttle — which carried 46,000 passengers between Banff and Lake Louise in 2017 — will continue to operate until Oct. 8.
“This expansion of services is a huge step toward better connecting the Bow Valley by public transit and toward offering people an alternative to driving their vehicles in the valley,” Martin Bean, CAO of the Bow Valley Regional Transit Services Commission, said in a news release.
Roam is also launching a new route that will run from downtown Banff to the Banff Centre. Fares for this route will be $2 one-way, while riding the Banff-Lake Louise route will cost $8 one-way.
In recent years, Parks Canada and the Town of Banff have been searching for ways to decrease traffic congestion within the townsite and the surrounding na- tional park, which was visited by approximately 4.2 million people in 2017-18. Environmentalists contend that increasing human traffic disturbs and kills wildlife, brings more trash and stresses wastewater systems.
Funding for the new routes comes from Parks Canada, the Alberta government’s GreenTRIP program, Improvement District No. 9, and the Banff Centre.
This expansion of services is a huge step toward better connecting the Bow Valley by public transit.