9623 replies to this topic

[Cats4Hire]

I assume 17 will be temp discontinued too. I actually have no idea if it has been running but it's still listed on Nextride unlike 16 and 76.

Seems 17 was discontinued. As well as 51. Odd they didn't mention either of those especially 51, as I'm fairly certain it is just drastically reduced but still operating during the summer normally. 

[Cats4Hire]

9 was also discontinued (just double checked next ride and schedules and that seems to be it) and I know for a fact it wasn't last year as I took it throughout July and August. Once it becomes a "frequent service" route (especially with their plans to reduce service on 11 for it) I doubt they'll discontinue 9 during the summer again but I wonder if they will for 51. I was always curious why it continued to run through the summer anyway.

[UserofVic]

The 51's busier than you think in the summer. Summer semester still draws students, it's mandatory in engineering for example, and university staff work all year long. There's also just some non-UVic related travel demand to University Heights and the McKenzie/Quadra areas. The 51 can represent time savings of like 20+ minutes over both the 39 and the 50+26 transfer. I noticed someone on Facebook was upset at it being discontinued since they commute Westshore-UVic. If it wasn't for COVID I'd regularly be taking it still. Up to the end of June there's also all those k-12 schools along McKenzie and Sooke rd, but July and August still don't do terribly ridership wise, especially in the morning. The afternoon trips can vary but that's an issue in the winter too since there's more variability in leaving campus than going to it.

 

The 9 really is just a combination of the the 4,11, and 21 so I get them cancelling it when transferring isn't a massive detour though still far more annoying than it'd be otherwise.

 

Worse than the 9, Happy Valley road got their weekday service span slashed from 8:40pm to 7:35pm on the 54. Which uh grocery stores close at 8pm so I hope no one's getting f***ed over in Metchosin by that. There's also this weird case where the last 52 travelling from the Langford exchange to the Colwood exchange is later on Sunday than any other night of the week due to Saturday schedule weirdness. Colwood to Langford/Bear Mountain already had the same last bus on weekdays and Saturday, so that's the same but dang the local routes already missed evening jobs and this doesn't help.

[Cats4Hire]

The 9 really is just a combination of the the 4,11, and 21 so I get them cancelling it when transferring isn't a massive detour though still far more annoying than it'd be otherwise.

It's actually rather annoying to get between Camosun Interurban and Royal Oak despite how close they are and there being 3 (I guess 2 now) buses that do it unless you want to walk (unless they put actual sidewalks on West Saanich between Markham and Royal Oak I sure will not). 83 runs once every 2 hours and currently between 10:55 and 3:41 the 39 is only running about once an hour. Or if I live along Interurban before the 39 and want to get to somewhere along Quadra that's not walking distance from the 26 it would now take 3 buses (8/21 > 39 > 6 or 8/21 > 26 > 6) rather than the relatively quick 9 > 6. 

 

I guess it just seems weird the 51 normally had the about same amount of trips when UVic is in full session and during the summer. 

[Cats4Hire]

Is anyone else not getting any information except vehicle ID (which is fairly irrelevant) when clicking on a bus on Nextride? For most routes that's fine but if you want to know if the upcoming 6 will take you through Emily Carr by Royal Oak Mall or if the 50 will continue to Sooke or if you 39 is stopping at Camosun or going to Westhills it could be really annoying. 

[lanforod]

It's actually rather annoying to get between Camosun Interurban and Royal Oak despite how close they are and there being 3 (I guess 2 now) buses that do it unless you want to walk (unless they put actual sidewalks on West Saanich between Markham and Royal Oak I sure will not). 83 runs once every 2 hours and currently between 10:55 and 3:41 the 39 is only running about once an hour. Or if I live along Interurban before the 39 and want to get to somewhere along Quadra that's not walking distance from the 26 it would now take 3 buses (8/21 > 39 > 6 or 8/21 > 26 > 6) rather than the relatively quick 9 > 6.

I guess it just seems weird the 51 normally had the about same amount of trips when UVic is in full session and during the summer.

Walk the royal oak trail, not West Saanich road. Same time, nicer walk. Half an hour.

[UserofVic]

It's actually rather annoying to get between Camosun Interurban and Royal Oak despite how close they are and there being 3 (I guess 2 now) buses that do it unless you want to walk (unless they put actual sidewalks on West Saanich between Markham and Royal Oak I sure will not). 83 runs once every 2 hours and currently between 10:55 and 3:41 the 39 is only running about once an hour. Or if I live along Interurban before the 39 and want to get to somewhere along Quadra that's not walking distance from the 26 it would now take 3 buses (8/21 > 39 > 6 or 8/21 > 26 > 6) rather than the relatively quick 9 > 6. 

 

I guess it just seems weird the 51 normally had the about same amount of trips when UVic is in full session and during the summer. 

Yeah the 9 is great, never meant to imply it wasn't, it's just not weird they cancelled it and the 51 for the pandemic times. I wish both still ran, but I get they'd be used a lot less without in person summer classes. It also makes sense both of them run year round normally because of both school's summer courses. The 51 has such limited service there's not much room to cut it normally, and trust me the 51 is used in the summer. There's like 6 evening trips, and some probably move buses back to the Langford garage considering bridge construction last summer made the 15 that switched to the 51 I wanted consistently late lol. Also they run the natural gas New Flyers on the 14/15 so core areas do end up with buses from the Langford garage. If a bus has gotta go back regardless, might as well run it as something instead of nothing. The 9's also pretty new. Eventually it'll take away service from the 4 which cool I think the 9's actually the better Hillside route, just make the transfers to the Douglas street buses work and it'll be great, but they never had the resources placed before COVID unfortunately :/

 

Also gotta say, hourly 39 service isn't that bad compared to how easily it could be none. The lost revenue has pushed modified Saturday schedules in for the weekdays which sucks but well it could've been worse. Without Camosun the Interurban corridor is just another low density suburban area. Hourly service is too low for such areas and is painful, but look no further than denser hoursing areas areas in the Westshore (eg Happy Valley rd which has faced years of "sorry bus full" because community buses suck, can't wait till they're gone and upgraded to standing room only 30ft and 35fters!) to see that's the minimum standard of service Victoria has deemed necessary. I wish 30 minute service was the local service standard but I digress.

Edited by UserofVic, 26 May 2020 - 06:19 PM.

[Cats4Hire]

Without Camosun the Interurban corridor is just another low density suburban area. 

I wonder why certain areas seem to rely more heavily on bus service. Are 30/31 only so frequently used to get from Downtown to Uptown (even though there's 40 other routes that do that) or do Glanford/Carey have a higher demand than Interurban? Same could be asked for 27/28 or even routes like 4, 7, 11, 14, 26 (15 I get since Esquimalt road is pretty major and it's a quick route from Downtown to Jubilee) when UVic isn't in. Sure they all serve major areas but so do routes like 21, 22, 24, 25 (Tillicum Mall, Hillside Mall, Admirals Walk, University Heights, Saanich Plaza) .

[Cats4Hire]

13 new light-duty buses for Handydart are starting today https://twitter.com/...082122982359042

[Cats4Hire]

 

 

March monthly passes can be exchanged for a future monthly pass or refunded for the pro-rated amount in which fares were not collected. April monthly passes can be exchanged for a future monthly pass. Only passes that are eligible for refunds will be accepted. Exchanges and refunds will be available effective June 1, 2020 at BC Transit's head office at 520 Gorge Road until August 31, 2020.

https://www.bctransi...ent=fare_refund

[Mike K.]

I was downtown yesterday and encountered full buses with some frequency, right at the beginnings of their routes.

This means taking transit downtown or to the office is now a risk that I can’t imagine many who do have the option to drive will take. Can you imagine, though? You work several stops up from where the bus reaches capacity, and now you’re stuck for however long until a bus arrives that can accommodate you? The busy 50/61 routes will be huge liabilities during busy periods unless you can board a stop or two from the terminus, otherwise you’re in trouble.

[Nparker]

The plague has only confirmed my thoughts about buses: they are a grotty, no-other-option form of transportation. Sorry Lisa, but even "free" I'd hesitate to ride one these days.

[Victoria Watcher]

well they are unfree shortly so they might get a bit lighter.

[Nparker]

Even free, buses ran mostly empty over the past 2 months. I don't imagine numbers will increase much with fares being re-introduced.

[Victoria Watcher]

Transit ridership in Greater Victoria is slowly starting to ramp up following a substantial drop in usage over the past couple of months.

Johnathon Dyck, communications manager for B.C. Transit, said regional ridership is down about 66 per cent compared to last year at this time, which is an improvement over last month’s 77 per cent decrease.

Transit routes have had to decrease in order to match the drop in usage, but Dyck said B.C. Transit is “monitoring the situation closely,” and will continuously adapt its services as the province moves towards phase 3 of B.C.’s Restart Plan.

 

https://www.vicnews....s-gradual-rise/

[Cats4Hire]

Next commission meeting (June 16) won't have an in person audience but will be recorded and uploaded to Youtube (why not just stream it?) https://www.bctransi...content=MA_VRTC

[Cats4Hire]

Not a lot of interesting stuff in regards to future planning in tomorrow's meeting (which makes sense). Only real things of note are from the planning update

 

Fall 2020 (Effective September 7, 2020) The fall seasonal service change typically increases service to both secondary and postsecondary schools to align with ridership demand. In concert with the BC government’s Restart Plan, BC Transit is implementing a phased recovery strategy to align transit service with anticipated demand.

Since UVic and Camosun both are only doing in person classes this fall for a select few with the rest online I think this means they're keeping the reduced level we currently have on those routes. I could see them bringing back 9 and 51 (mostly to service secondary and middle schools) as well as a slight boost for 8, 21 and 39 as I think most of Camosun Interurban's classes will be in person (don't know for sure, just assuming based on the large amount of trades stuff they do).

 

Also

 

Local Area Transit Plans 

 

• Both phases of public engagement have been completed for the Broadmead/Cordova Bay and Esquimalt/View Royal Local Area Transit Plans. Staff propose to provide a summary of this plan at the August meeting of the Commission.
• Local area transit planning for the Saanich Peninsula is slated to begin late in 2020 and will employ video meetings and new web-based engagement tools to facilitate stakeholder and public consultation.

I except the Broadmead and Esquimalt ones to mostly go like the Tillicum and Oak Bay ones did with pretty much everything proposed just being accepted. Peninsula will be interesting to see, especially areas like Brentwood Bay that have already had discussions. 

 

This document gives some information on transit during COVID and a few goals they hope to accomplish as things open up https://www.bctransi...s/1529709708459

 

and the page with everything else in case you're interested in stats. https://www.bctransi...ngs/jun-16-2020

[Nparker]

Once again I have to shake my head at the naiveté of some people. Clearly basic economics eludes them.

...Buses should be free for everyone. The wealthy of our communities would never need or want to take the bus but many would happily support a bus system that looks after our community members who struggle financially. Why can’t transit be free for all, especially in a wealthy community like Greater Victoria?...

https://www.timescol...junk-1.24153676

"Wealthy" people (and by this I am sure the writer means anyone earning more the minimum wage) already pay a lot of taxes. This funds a substantial portion of the bus service the writer readily admits they neither need, nor want to use. Why should they pay even more just so "everyone" can ride for free? 

[Mike K.]

Yeah, but you’re not actually paying taxes. You’re a philanthropist!

[sebberry]

Once again I have to shake my head at the naiveté of some people. Clearly basic economics eludes them.

"Wealthy" people (and by this I am sure the writer means anyone earning more the minimum wage) already pay a lot of taxes. This funds a substantial portion of the bus service the writer readily admits they neither need, nor want to use. Why should they pay even more just so "everyone" can ride for free? 

 

I know folks who make $80k/yr and regularly take the bus to and from work.  

 

Also, isn't it the 'wealthy' in their gas guzzling SUVs who we want off the road anyway?