VICTORIA – BC Transit and the Victoria Regional Transit Commission (VRTC) are pleased to announce more service hours are being directed at post-secondary schools. Late night service on Fridays and Saturdays will be added to the West Shore and Gordon Head. Service to Esquimalt will be restructured to enhance destination choices. A total of 5,000 annual service hours will be added to the Victoria Regional Transit System. These changes support the goals of the region’s 25 year Transit Future Plan.
Effective September 2, 2014, late night service on Friday and Saturday nights, currently available on routes 4, 6 and 14 will be extended to routes 15X Dockyard/UVic, 27 Gordon Head, 28 Majestic and 50 Langford/Downtown. Extra late night runs leave the downtown core at 12:30 a.m., 1 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. The added late night service comes at the request of BC Transit customers following extensive public consultations last fall.
Service hours are being expanded on Route 4 Hillside/UVic, Route 8 Interurban/Oak Bay and Route 39 UVic/Royal Roads to better serve customers who are travelling to the region’s largest post-secondary institutions.
The current Route 6 Royal Oak/Esquimalt is being restructured. Esquimalt residents will now be better served by the Route 15X Dockyard/UVic with direct access to UVic, Camosun College Lansdowne campus and the Royal Jubilee Hospital. The new Route 6 Downtown/Royal Oak will travel from the downtown core to the Royal Oak exchange along Quadra Street.
The fall improvements align with both the findings of the public consultation process and the recently completed service review of the Victoria Regional Transit System.
“Reliable and efficient connections to campuses, health services and workplaces are a hallmark of an effective transportation network,” said Todd Stone, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. “As a funding partner, the province is pleased to support the growing demand for transit service in the Capital Region.”
“We listened to the more than six thousand customers who participated in public consultations asking for more late night runs and added trips to the Camosun College Interurban campus,” said Susan Brice, Chair of the Victoria Regional Transit Commission. “Ridership is on the rise in the Victoria region and we hope these investments continue to encourage people to make transit their transportation choice.”
“With these increased service hours and changes, we will be better able to meet the growing demands of the region and our customers,” said BC Transit President and CEO Manuel Achadinha. “We are pleased to work with our partners at the Victoria Regional Transit Commission and our customers to make these significance improvements to the system.”
For more information on routes and schedules please call 250.382.6161 or visit www.bctransit.com/regions/vic
Media Contact:
Meribeth Burton
Corporate Spokesperson | BC Transit
d: 250.995.5720
c: 250.507.8145
media@bctransit.com