497 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

No kidding! Great idea.

I know several fisherman who will he using that bus to get to their boats. Saves the wife having to do four trips.

[Victoria Watcher]

Victoria transit users cannot visit Duncan or Nanaimo and return the same day, and people in those communities cannot reach most Victoria airport or Swartz Bay ferry connections by bus. Because service is inconvenient and expensive, transit carries less than one per cent of travellers over the Malahat.

 

In contrast, between Sooke and Victoria there are 43 daily buses with $2.50 fares. Because service is frequent and affordable, buses serve 22% of that corridor’s peak period trips.

 

Achieving that ridership level between Victoria and Duncan would help solve Island Highway traffic problems, saving tens of millions of dollars annually in traveller and government costs.

Why is transit service so good on some corridors and bad on others?

 

Because Sooke and Victoria are both in the Capital Regional District, making it easy to plan transit connections, but Victoria and Duncan are in different districts, and the province has no standard process for planning and funding interregional transit connections.

 

Currently, interregional bus improvements require years of planning and 50% local funding. That is unfair and inadequate; it forces local governments to subsidize non-resident travellers and underinvests in non-drivers.

 

The province recently applied a much lower “enhanced” cost-sharing rate for new Highway 16 bus routes, in recognition that the traditional funding model is unsuitable for long-distance bus services, but has not offered this for Vancouver Island routes.

 

To increase fairness and reduce traffic problems, our organization, Better Island Transit advocates for more frequent and affordable Vancouver Island bus services.

 

Specifically, we request at least hourly service on the 66 (Duncan to Victoria) and 70 (Duncan to Nanaimo) routes, with $5 maximum one-way fares, so travel between central and south Vancouver Island becomes much more convenient and affordable. Both the Capital Regional District and Cowichan Valley Regional District transit boards support this proposal, but implementation will require additional provincial funding.

 

 

https://www.timescol...transit-9236075

[Nparker]

Duncan and communities further north are not part of the CRD and have no reason to expect the same service as within the capital region.

[aastra]

Methinks a bridge across the inlet would have addressed many of these considerations.

[splashflash]

You can now take a BC Transit bus from Victoria to Campbell River
The last gap in an alternative form of travel between most of Vancouver Island's major urban centres was bridged in mid-September.

https://www.nanaimob...l-river-7569283

"The last gap in an alternative form of travel between most of Vancouver Island's major urban centres was bridged in mid-September.

"You can now travel on BC Transit buses from Victoria to Campbell River after the last link in a chain of regional transit services was connected during a quiet celebration in Deep Bay, south of Courtenay.

"There is a lot of cultural connectivity from Union Bay to Bowser, they said, and it will be great that teenagers, families and friends now have a new way to connect in this rural area.

I am not sure how correct is that last paragraph, but this connection is welcome.

[Mike K.]

Odd. I thought this had been done years ago!

[Victoria Watcher]

 

 

https://viconnector.com/schedules/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 24 May 2025 - 07:04 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Flixbus, now in 3 provinces, wants to connect Canada in the wake of Greyhound's demise

German company says mileage has doubled year-over-year since 2022


https://www.cbc.ca/n...iness-1.7604811

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 10 August 2025 - 11:07 AM.

[splashflash]

https://www.masstran...volution-of-brt

Is Autonomous Bus Rapid Transit the Next Evolution of BRT?

"Autonomous bus rapid transit could combine the best of light rail and BRT to set a new standard in public transportation.

"Autonomous technology could bring many benefits to bus rapid transit: improved safety through side and rear collision detection; true precision docking, allowing the buses to get as close to the curb as possible; and, greater ability to adapt to demand and add capacity as needed by sending messages from the stations to operations centers.

In Europe these technologies were developed, but released too early, in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Dutch Phileas and French Civis and Citidis had some teething issues. In the meantime autonomous driving technologies have developed that promise value for less money with a lot of piggybacking on mass market developing and testing being done recently.

[Victoria Watcher]

BC Transit says it will be discontinuing service to Arbutus Ridge via Route 8 Mill Bay/Duncan and Route 9 Mill Bay/Duncan.

 

Service will expand for Route 66 Cowichan-Victoria Express (CVX) by adding Sunday service, making inter-regional service available seven days a week between the Cowichan Valley and Victoria. 

 

Some of the trips on Route 66 CVX will also provide connections with Route 70 Nanaimo-Cowichan Express (NCX).

 

 

https://cheknews.ca/...valley-1292998/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 05 December 2025 - 01:52 AM.

[splashflash]

BC Transit says it will be discontinuing service to Arbutus Ridge via Route 8 Mill Bay/Duncan and Route 9 Mill Bay/Duncan.

Service will expand for Route 66 Cowichan-Victoria Express (CVX) by adding Sunday service, making inter-regional service available seven days a week between the Cowichan Valley and Victoria.

Some of the trips on Route 66 CVX will also provide connections with Route 70 Nanaimo-Cowichan Express (NCX).


https://cheknews.ca/...valley-1292998/

By getting rid of #8, that removes the service to the Mill Bay ferry. 😞

Edited by splashflash, 05 December 2025 - 06:22 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

I don't think the routes are eliminated, just the limited-service bits to Arbutus Ridge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A limited bus service was introduced to Arbutus Ridge quite a few years ago. With pick-ups and drop-offs 3 times daily, it probably seemed like a good idea at the time. However, with only 2 bus stops, both on Arbutus Ridge N, the bus, when it is stopped, was never accessible to many residents. When first introduced it was designated “an amenity” of the community.

 

To anyone who may have observed the bus passing through our community, you may have wondered: “Other than those one or two people on the bus when it enters our gates, does anyone actually ever use it.”

 

Well, the CVRD and BC Transit have been wondering too. Back as 2012, the Cowichan Valley Transit Future Plan, provided a vision of the transit network over the next 25 years. In 2023, the Future Local Area Transit Plan for South Cowichan was published. Prior studies had shown that existing routes were not meeting the current performance or service guidelines. Hence improvements were called for. These are intended to improve bus service for the majority of those who travel by bus between Duncan, Mill Bay and Shawnigan Lake. The goal is to create a service that is faster, more frequent, and maintains coverage of key service areas. One of many proposed changes to improve the overall performance of the existing route is the elimination of the two bus stops in Arbutus Ridge. This will likely be implemented sometime in 2025. The plan intends to make the bus system work better for the majority of those who use it. Those who use it less frequently are apt to lose it. If you would like to pursue this further you are invited to contact Rachelle Rondeau, CVRD Transit Analyst at transit@cvrd.bc.ca or 250.746.2637.

 

https://residents.ar...e-Bus-final.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

Turns out affluent seniors do not take a bus.  

 

Or seniors in any community name "Arbutus".  They removed the bus from Arbutus Point in 10-Mile too.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 05 December 2025 - 06:38 AM.

[splashflash]

Thanks for that correction. That Arbutus Ridge jog adds quite a bit of time to the route from end to end and true, for few passengers.

Edited by splashflash, 05 December 2025 - 07:14 AM.

[Bernard]

Last Weekend I went to Sechelt and on the way there I used the Island Link bus.  It was moderately quick but it is not a comfortable ride.  On the way back I took transit from Horseshoe Bay to the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal.  The trip time from Sechelt to home was slightly faster going via Translink than taking Island Link from Departure Bay.   It was also $40 cheaper.

 

Another reason I will not go to Sechelt via Departure Bay is that Nanaimo farry was a bit late and I missed the Langdale ferry.  I had to wait three hours for the next ferry.

[Victoria Watcher]

The Douglas Street bus terminal is closing.

[splashflash]

The Douglas Street bus terminal is closing.

End of an era. This really disappoints me.

[Victoria Watcher]

You know, MegaBus or even Greyhound existed with some stops not having an actual "terminal" building.  

 

Now, I have not read the article yet, but the TC headline says "the operator" (presumably Wilson) says business is too small to support it.  But they will contune to park and load buses there I guess.  

 

I'll have the article in a few hours. 

 

EDIT:  here it is:

 

https://www.timescol...-drops-11851896

 

 

The Wilson’s Group of Companies, which runs the bus terminal, said reduced demand is behind the decision.

 

The facility has a small waiting room, bathrooms and a ticket counter.

 

Wilson’s said it is working with the City of Victoria to keep the bus parking stalls in front of Capital City Station on Douglas Street. It plans to sell tickets through drivers, online and via industry partners such as ­Destination Greater ­Victoria’s Visitor Centre and hotels.

 

Travis Wilson, chief operating officer for the company, said ­passengers can wait under the covered transit stop in front of the depot, or across the street in the Victoria Conference Centre.

 

He said he’s hoping that the next business to lease the city-owned space in Crystal Garden will allow bus customers to use the bathroom, but they can use the public facilities at the Victoria Conference Centre and other nearby businesses in the meantime.

 

Other scheduled-bus ­operators are making similar moves amid the rising costs of brick-and-mortar bases and a decrease in in-person ticket sales, he said.

 

 

[...]

 

 

Wilson said three full-time staff will shift to working at its head office, offering customer service support, while three casual staff will lose their jobs when the depot closes on Feb. 28.

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps this is an aggravating factor:

 

 

Wilson pays a lease, cleans and maintains the bathrooms, and then their competitor just parks here for free.

 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 08 February 2026 - 03:19 AM.

[Mike K.]

Or they may have to pay a fee to the City in some capacity, but their passengers will use the Wilson’s-run station for free.