Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin, a member of the Victoria Regional Transit Commission (VRTC),  couldn’t be happier over this weeks decision by the commission to give the go-ahead for late-night BC Transit service on a permanent basis. And he’s quick to point that the service is not just for UVic and Camosun College students — it’s also meant to support the staff that work at late-night gathering spots.

While he acknowledges that post-secondary education student groups lobbied hard for the continuation of the service, after a three-month trial started in January, he says ridership numbers showed that it was more than just students using the service.

Starting this fall, BC Transit buses will operate past 1AM along three routes on Friday and Saturday nights. Photo © by VibrantVictoria.ca.

“Thirty percent of the users were college and university pass-holding students, but a further 30% were individuals that had standard monthly bus passes, and there were plenty of regular fare paying customers,” he said.

Fortin is also of the belief that a “component of every great city is a vibrant late-night atmosphere,” adding that it is the role of government to provide affordable transit solutions, particularly in a city that is generally regarded as expensive, for the folks partaking in late night activities and those employed in the restaurants, hotels and clubs that work the long hours serving them.

Fortin admits that the trial service was “poorly run.” The pilot started with little notice and ended abruptly while still picking up steam. The launch date was also too late for inclusion in BC Transit’s printed schedules released each September, and that, he says, prevented more casual users or those not exposed to the student advertising campaign from knowing about late-night transit services.

With this knowledge in hand, Fortin is convinced the second go planned for the fall of this year will be better better received thanks in part to a more involved marketing process.

The cost for late-night services is pegged at over $500,000 per year.  It may be high, Fortin says, but worthwhile.

He also notes that collective-bargaining issues and contracts required the Victoria Regional Transit System to hire several more full-time drivers and other staff just for the increased hours of the Friday and Saturday night service. Luckily the additional drivers can use some left over time from their 37-hour work-week to add in runs along routes that throughout the day experience “pass-ups” more often than the VRTC would like to see. In effect, the cost of adding the late-night service adds some benefit to daytime services as well.

The VRTC this week gave approval to late-night service starting in September and running through to the end of the university/college regular school term. Routes 4, 6 and 14 will see the increased service hours.

Sooke Mayor Janet Evans was the only VRTC member to vote against the proposal.

For the latest on the Victoria Regional Transit System and BC Transit issues affecting the capital region, refer to VibrantVictoria.ca’s dedicated transit discussion forum thread here.

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