THE provincial government hopes to have BC Transit vehicles providing service between Prince Rupert and Terrace and Terrace and the Hazeltons by either this year or next.
The commitment, first made last year, was reaffirmed today in what the province called an update on ways to make it safer and more efficient for people to travel along Hwy16 from Prince Rupert to Prince George.
Those new transit routes are subject to local government approval.
Also announced today was an application form for groups wishing to either buy community-use vehicles or obtain grants to operate ones they already own.
These grants are meant primarily to help smaller and more remote communities provide service to larger communities along the Hwy16 corridor.
The province said it is also looking for a training agency to teach more First Nations people how to drive.
As well, the province said it and various health authorities will continue to look at ways of improving medical patient travel in the region.
In all, provincial transportation minister Todd Stone said what had been a plan to spend $3 million has now expanded to $5 million.
That's being helped by the federal government which said it will provide $1 million to install more bus shelters and more webcams than originally planned.
Both the shelters and the cams are meant to provide an increased measure of comfort and security for people waiting for transit service.