9626 replies to this topic

[grantpalin]

That's a pretty strong move, shutting down the bus lines for three straight days. One day at a time would be an inconvenience, but three days in a row will be something else. That will be hard on commuters, especially for university students near the end of the school term.

 

SkyTrain is a separate union which is recently starting up its own strike action. Handydart is also not affected.

 

And here I was planning on going to Vancouver next Friday via ferry and then bus as far as Bridgeport to board the Canada Line. Will have to plan for alternate transport.

Edited by grantpalin, 20 November 2019 - 09:57 PM.

[vortoozo]

And here I was planning on going to Vancouver next Friday via ferry and then bus as far as Bridgeport to board the Canada Line. Will have to plan for alternate transport.

 

BC Ferries Connector

[grantpalin]

BC Ferries Connector

That looks like a good alternative plan. Saves squeezing onto the public bus at the other side too.

[Jackerbie]

There will be no Translink service at all (skytrain, bus, sea bus, etc) Wednesday, Thursday or Friday next week https://bc.ctvnews.c...tdown-1.4694033

 

There absolutely will be SkyTrain service. Let's not get carried away sharing misinformation.

 

Aaaaand the union representing rail transit workers has voted to consider job action. They have not issued strike notice at this time. Any strike would affect the Millennium and Expo lines only, as the West Coast Express is operated by Bombardier and the Canada Line is operated by SNC Lavalin.

[Mike K.]

Wait. Hold on. Bombardier operates WCE, and SNC the Canada Line?

[Nparker]

Passenger rail operation in the lower mainland is almost as convoluted as the governance model used on southern Vancouver Island.

[Mike K.]

Right. Now would Coast Mountain Bus Co also include Vancouver buses? I thought it was only Burnaby and further east, and North Van (possibly West Van)?

[Jackerbie]

Right. Now would Coast Mountain Bus Co also include Vancouver buses? I thought it was only Burnaby and further east, and North Van (possibly West Van)?

 

Coast Mountain Bus Co is all of the Translink buses. West Van's Blue Buses are operated by the municipality but are part of the Translink network (i.e. they use Compass and transfer to Seabus is possible). BC Transit operates the buses east of Langley.

 

Wait. Hold on. Bombardier operates WCE, and SNC the Canada Line?

 

Bombardier has a contract for the operation and maintenance of the WCE, yes. SNC's contract to build the Canada Line included operation and maintenance until 2040ish. When you take a Canada Line train, you'll notice the attendants wearing green jackets with the SNC logo, as opposed to the blue and high-vis yellow of Skytrain attendants.

[Victoria Watcher]

His advice came Thursday as a strike looms next week by one transit union representing 5,000 bus, SeaBus and maintenance workers, while another union representing 900 SkyTrain workers announced a 96.8 per cent vote in favour of job action if a contract isn't reached.

 

https://www.timescol...pute-1.24015549

 

900 skytrain workers?  that seems like a lot for a completely automated system.

[Victoria Watcher]

 

Over 450 youth bus passes picked up at Victoria city hall in less than a week

 

By Friday, November 22nd, a total of 457 passes were claimed by young people – or their guardians – who showed identification with proof of age and residency.

 

https://www.victoria...ss-than-a-week/

 

 

that's probably not too rigorous a system if guardians alone can pick up.  not sure anyone has a document proving how many kids they have.

[Cats4Hire]

The December service change fiasco won't be happening this year; December reduction in service starts after UVic ends classes for the exam break.  UVic ends on 4 Dec, service change happens on 6 Dec.  January schedule and UVic session both begin on 6 Jan.

 

Interesting date. As you point out that's two days after Uvic's last day but it actually is Camosun's last day so Interurban still has a day of just as many people with less 8s, 21s and 39s compared to the rest of the year. I wonder why they didn't just wait until the Monday opposed to the Friday.

Looks like it's actually December 9 so Camosun and UVic will both be out when it switches. That's good. https://www.bctransi...d=1529706180361

[spanky123]

 

 

https://www.victoria...ss-than-a-week/

 

 

that's probably not too rigorous a system if guardians alone can pick up.  not sure anyone has a document proving how many kids they have.

 

 

Hmmm. The article claims the program is for kids 12-18. Seems to go back and forth as to whether kids younger than 12 can get a pass. 

 

I am sure that the City will give a pass to anyone who looks the part or has reasonable identification. Last thing they want is for only a couple of thousand people to get passes.

[Midnightly]

Hmmm. The article claims the program is for kids 12-18. Seems to go back and forth as to whether kids younger than 12 can get a pass. 

 

I am sure that the City will give a pass to anyone who looks the part or has reasonable identification. Last thing they want is for only a couple of thousand people to get passes.

 

 

one of the councilors replied to a parent on the city facebook page saying that kids younger then 12 can collect a pass, though not too sure how young is too young (i've read some places that kids 5 and under do not qualify since they are already free but not sure if it was a councilor post or some media story, or random person post) while i fully think a 11yr old should be able to have access (grade 6 middle school student) i don't think a 7 or 8yr old should qualify since there is no way they would ride the bus along and they would be considered free with a paying rider

[Mike K.]

Seasonal service changes take effect in Victoria

VICTORIA – Service levels in the Victoria Regional Transit System will be adjusted for the month of December to match the ridership levels at this time of year.

As of Monday, December 9, routes serving the University of Victoria and Camosun College will see reduced service as those institutions take a break from regular classes. These routes include:

· 4 UVic/Downtown
· 7 UVic/Downtown
· 8 Interurban/Tillicum Mall/Oak Bay
· 11 Tillicum Mall/UVic
· 12 UVic/ Univ Heights
· 13 Ten Mile Point/UVic
· 14 Vic General/UVic
· 15 Esquimalt/UVic
· 21 Downtown/Interurban
· 26 UVic/Dockyard
· 39 Westhills Exchange/Interurban/Royal Oak Exchange/UVic
· 51 Langford/UVic

The routes 16 Uptown/UVic and 76 Swartz Bay/UVic are temporarily discontinued during the Holiday period. Setting service levels to reflect ridership during December allows BC Transit to increase service levels in the fall and winter. Additional buses will be available if needed during that time. Regular service will resume on January 6, 2020.

For more information on the December service changes, visit BCTransit.com/Victoria, refer to your Victoria Rider’s Guide, or call 250-382-6161.

[Victoria Watcher]

The City of Victoria has seen more than 500 youth transit passes get picked up at City Hall since they became available on Tuesday.

 

https://www.vicnews....ty-hall-so-far/

[Nparker]

Only 6700 more and the program will live up to its hype.

[Mike K.]

I saw a 65 double decker (Sooke via Westhills from downtown) broken down in the middle of the road on Westshore Parkway a few moments back. I was heading in the opposite direction and saw the driver getting up to address passengers as I passed by.

At least in a communist country you’d have a dozen shade tree mechanics running out to fix the thing.*





*Communist Poland joke, relax.

[Mike K.]

BC Transit seeks feedback on Sooke transit improvements

VICTORIA – BC Transit is seeking public input and feedback through open houses in Sooke for phase two of the Local Area Transit Plans on Thursday, December 5.

BC Transit will be hosting two open houses where staff will be available to discuss the Sooke Local Area Transit Plan, which outlines what the future of transit in Sooke will look like.

Members of the public are encouraged to give their feedback on the proposed plans outlined in the Sooke Local Area Transit Plan at the open houses held on Thursday, December 5 at:

SeaParc Leisure Complex
2168 Phillips Rd, Sooke, BC
From 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Edward Milne Community School
6218 Sooke Rd, Sooke, BC
From 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

The Sooke Local Area Transit Plan goals include:

- Identifying opportunities for new transit serving local travel needs within Sooke and also improvements to regional-scale service
- Establishing the order of priority for the development and improvement of transit routes
- Identifying infrastructure needed to support passengers and transit operations

Feedback gathered through these open houses will help BC Transit to develop recommendations to the Victoria Regional Transit Commission on how to improve existing services and identify future service needs.

Members of the public who cannot attend the open houses are invited to provide their feedback through an online survey available at https://form.simples.../f/l/sooke-LATP

[Mike K.]

Sooke's existing route network

 

 

New local routing concept

 

 

New rural routing concept

 

 

New regional routing. A question they ask is if the new regional route (in pink) should connect Langford to Sooke, or prioritize downtown Victoria. We were just talking about how a more direct Victoria scheduling would be a good thing.

 

[Cats4Hire]

Mentioned at the end of the survey (I didn't actually submit it since I never bus in Sooke) is that a new exchange would go on Waddams Way near the library as the current terminus is at capacity.