465 replies to this topic

[Rob Randall]

Are the hip kids just calling it Campbell now?

[Victoria Watcher]

Are the hip kids just calling it Campbell now?

 

that's some type of experimental writing style for sure.  i had to read it twice.

[Mike K.]

Wilson’s has cancelled coach services on the Island Connector until December 10th. No details provided.

[Victoria Watcher]

Wilson’s has cancelled coach services on the Island Connector until December 10th. No details provided.

 

it had already been suspended until the 4th.

 

https://viconnector....ovember-update/

 

i presume this is just an extension due to low bookings.

 

this time of year they just have 2 trips north each day.

 

https://viconnector....20-Schedule.pdf

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 30 November 2020 - 06:55 PM.

[Mike K.]

Yup, sounds like it.

[Victoria Watcher]

The Wilson’s Group has extended the cancellation of its Vancouver Island Connector services until at least Jan. 8. The connector provides shuttle bus services up the Island and Tofino from the Ferry Terminals. CEO John Wilson confirmed with NEWS 1130 they’ve been forced to make the decision due to B.C. travel restrictions. Wilson says their services between the Lower Mainland and Whistler will also be affected.

[Victoria Watcher]

A commentary by the president and CEO of Wilson’s Transportation of Victoria.

 

Time is running out for the motor coach industry, with many operators facing permanent closure in the next two or three months without meaningful financial aid.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the industry, which has seen a 95 per cent drop in revenue since March. Ninety per cent of fleets have been parked.

 

 

https://www.timescol...emic-1.24265169

[Mike K.]

I guess the problem with the bus industry, in general, is so much travel for islanders is east-west. Victorians have more connection to Vancouver than Nanaimo, for instance.

[Victoria Watcher]

Editorial: Motor coach industry deserves support

https://www.timescol...port-1.24271262

 

John Wilson, the CEO of Wilson’s Transportation, has been clear about the impact of the pandemic on his business. When he says many operators in the motor coach industry are facing permanent closure in the next two or three months if they do not get financial aid, governments need to take him seriously, and respond.

 

 

The first step might be to stop thinking of Wilson’s as just another private enterprise. It is a crucial part of the local infrastructure. Amazon might be able to step in when a local retailer closes, but Amazon would not be able to take the place of essential infrastructure.

If Wilson’s is forced to close, no other company could create a new service quickly enough to help many in the tourism sector survive. The lasting damage would be huge.

 

_____________

 

Consider the number of motor coaches at Butchart Gardens during prime tourist season. Without those buses, what will happen to those visitors? Will they get to the Island’s most famous attraction by taxi? By public transit? Or will they simply not go?

 

 

 

 

 

some reasonable points here.  but the company is nearly 60 years old.  is there any reason to think they can't - by goodwill alone with their bankers, suppliers and partners - manage this on their own (with those partners)?  isn't butchart gardens and bc ferries and the cruise industry also thinking about what the end of wilson's would mean and having talks?

 

what percentage of "the tourism industry" is motor coaches?  and are their lenders really taking back coaches when there are no buyers for them?

 

if the coach industry was to disappear would cruise ships return and just have their customers walk to town and to the gardens or would they pretty quickly get a vendor hired and in place? and wouldn't that likely be an experienced operator like the wilson's management?

 

if we lost gray line (run by wilson's) would craigdarroch and burchart and others still figure a way to get tourists there?

 

i'm not saying wilson's is is less deserving than any others but it's not so simple.  and should not be so simple as giving them $xxx tax dollars with no strings.  i read lots of article saying that various business "do not want more loans/debt" but what better way to make companies accountable for free or cheap money than repayment terms?  with interest and repayment terms companies that do not want/need money don't take it - leaving more for others.

 

here is a simple formula.  how many FTEs did you have in 2019 at your height?  we (the government) will give you up $10,000 per employee at 1% simple interest for 5 years.  then market interest on the balance for the next 5 years.

 

   

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 23 January 2021 - 06:58 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Island’s ground transportation service coming to a halt

Because of COVID-19, work and travel restrictions, revenue has been down 95 per cent

https://www.vicnews....ming-to-a-halt/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wilson's axes Tofino Bus with no relief in sight

https://www.timescol...ight-1.24275945

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 02 February 2021 - 12:06 PM.

[Jackerbie]

Are the hip kids just calling it Campbell now?

 

I once heard a Brit on YouTube refer to the "Port City of All-ber-NEE" and I had to pause and let that sink in

[Mike K.]

From 2018:

 

Bye bye Greyhound. They're ending all passenger and freight operations in Western Canada (BC to Manitoba) this fall. Only the Vancouver-Seattle route will remain. via http://www.cbc.ca/ne...umbia-1.4739459

 

Maybe the bus industry is just not needed/desired any more. Greyhound says their ridership declined 41% from 2010 to 2018. Wilson's says ridership is down 95% since the start of 2020.

[Victoria Watcher]

News that the Island’s ground transportation service—the Vancouver Island Connector—will not be resuming service this month has left a void in remote Vancouver Island communities.

On a service update posted to its website, Wilson’s Transportation said the Connector, along with the Tofino Bus, will remain suspended until further notice.

“Due to COVID-19, work and travel restrictions, revenue on these routes has been down 95 per cent since March 2020. While the Tofino Bus intercity bus service provides the same essential service as public transit, as a privately-owned company without any government subsidies, it depends on ticket sales to cover all costs.”

____________________

“Privatized bus services have been diminishing for a really long time—decades, really,” he said. “The pandemic has exacerbated their issues.”

____________________

Alemany does not believe this is the end of the Vancouver Island Connector, but he says there is still a need for public transit to connect remote communities across the Island.

“I think there’s a tourism market for [the Vancouver Island Connector],” he said. “I don’t think it’s been viable as public transit.”

 

 

https://www.vicnews....ncouver-island/

[Mike K.]

So maybe we can finally stop dithering and connect communities via BC Transit. There’s no reason at all one can’t travel from Victoria to Nanaimo via BC Transit, or from Nanaimo to Comox. All it would take is a simple extension of literally a couple of routes so that they connect with each localized system.

[vortoozo]

So maybe we can finally stop dithering and connect communities via BC Transit. There’s no reason at all one can’t travel from Victoria to Nanaimo via BC Transit, or from Nanaimo to Comox. All it would take is a simple extension of literally a couple of routes so that they connect with each localized system.

 

There is still a private operator that services that area - IslandLinkBus.

But they don't offer service to the north or west island.

[Mike K.]

It would be nice to catch a bus to Duncan, then catch a bus to Nanaimo. We have transit systems that don’t connect, for some reason. Currently there’s the Cowichan connector out of downtown Victoria but it’s one-way only in the AM and PM, save for the weekend when it runs three times in each direction.

[On the Level]

It would be nice to catch a bus to Duncan, then catch a bus to Nanaimo. We have transit systems that don’t connect, for some reason. Currently there’s the Cowichan connector out of downtown Victoria but it’s one-way only in the AM and PM, save for the weekend when it runs three times in each direction.

 

It could be worse.  They ran the train in the wrong direction then wondered why no one took it.

[Victoria Watcher]

It would be nice to catch a bus to Duncan, then catch a bus to Nanaimo. We have transit systems that don’t connect, for some reason. Currently there’s the Cowichan connector out of downtown Victoria but it’s one-way only in the AM and PM, save for the weekend when it runs three times in each direction.

 

i do not understand why you think government should be in the money-losing inter-city transit business.   there is no good reason why we should subsidize sending travelers to shop in duncan or vice versa.  the idea is urban transit systems to get people to work and to goods and services they need.  but there is no reason to expand that.  i could see port renfrew to sooke before i understand connecting relatively major urban areas that have hospitals and shopping centres and government offices.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 13 February 2021 - 06:21 PM.

[Mike K.]

Thousands of workers travel every day from Cowichan to Victoria, Victoria to Cowichan, Cowichan to Nanaimo and Nanaimo to Cowichan.

So I’m not talking about shopping, I’m talking about employment.

But the issue is private operations can’t sustain themselves even under normal times. Or at least they’re extremely tight margin. Meanwhile we have transit routes that end just shy of neighbouring district borders. Wouldn’t it make sense to connect them?

[Victoria Watcher]

Thousands of workers travel every day from Cowichan to Victoria, Victoria to Cowichan, Cowichan to Nanaimo and Nanaimo to Cowichan.

 

these are (relatively) affluent employees.  we do not need to subsidize them for travel needs.