A six-kilometre missing link in B.C. Transit’s service along Vancouver Island has been closed, allowing the public agency to offer an — albeit slow — Victoria-Campbell River service.
The service is in its infancy, said Daniel Arbour, Comox Valley Regional District director for Baynes Sound and Denman and Hornby islands.
Even so, it’s a start and he is keen to let the public know that expanded service is available to build ridership. It has not been advertised, he said.
This week, Arbour met a young man from Nanoose Bay on the bus who has been going to Courtenay for the past couple of weeks to fish. The passenger takes his bicycle with him.
Arbour and Stuart McLean, a director with the Nanaimo Regional District, started working in 2019 to make the service happen, going through regional districts and then B.C. Transit, backed by support from other local government officials.
“Quietly, in mid-September B.C. Transit closed a six-kilometre bus service gap between the small communities of Fanny Bay and Deep Bay on Vancouver Island, and by doing so bus users can now travel on public transit continuously from Campbell River to Victoria,” Arbour said.
McLean said it was a small step on a slow run between Victoria and Campbell River.
“But for a few dollars riders can now travel across the five public transit systems every weekday, and a little bit on the weekend,” he said. Service is more frequent on weekdays.
Because the provincial election is pending, B.C. Transit said it could not respond to questions about the service.
Arbour estimated the total cost to a rider between Victoria and Campbell River would be about $10, saying he thinks transfers are valid between regional district buses.
B.C. Transit’s website showed that a bus from the Deep Bay Marina to Campbell River would take five hours and 33 minutes with numerous stops along the way.
Riders change buses in different regional districts, Arbour said.
“For decades, inter-regional transit on the island was provided through the E&N railway and Greyhound bus,” Arbour said.
“With their respective demise, private operators now provide small express bus services, but at a higher cost than many regular public transit users can afford.”
Arbour hopes that the provincial and federal governments will send some money to support inter-regional transit to Vancouver Island to create an efficient Victoria-Campbell River service.
“Vancouver Island is growing,” Arbour said.
“Our vision for this particular bus initiative would be to grow it to a few runs a day with efficient transfers. That is when we would see increased value to users and communities, and increased ridership.”
Arbour sees value in connecting the communities. “There is a lot of cultural connectivity from Union Bay to Bowser, and it is great that teenagers, families and friends now have a new way to connect in our rural area.”
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