Transit announces ferries express run

A major change to the bus route from Victoria to Swartz Bay could slash the time it takes to catch a ferry.

The downtown Victoria to ferry terminal route (route 70) currently takes an hour — or more during busy times. The Victoria Regional Transit Service says that is about to change, as the journey will be cut down to about 40 minutes starting Sept. 2 when a new express route is introduced. That’s only marginally longer than it takes to drive the route.

Bridgit Mulligan, a University of Victoria student, says the meandering route is what prolongs the trip. “It’s not the frequency of the buses that’s the problem, it’s the route,” Mulligan said.

The current No. 70 bus cruises the Pat Bay Highway until Central Saanich, where it deviates into Saanichton. Farther up, the route zigzags through Sidney, bypassing the highway altogether before landing at Swartz Bay.

The new express route will start in downtown Victoria, connect to the Royal Oak Exchange, then dart up the Pat Bay Highway, said Ron Drolet, senior vice-president of BC Transit. In conjunction with the shortening of that route, the transit service is adding two new routes to service the Peninsula — one along the east side and another down West Saanich Road.

“We want to make our existing service for existing customers more appealing so we can have people rely on service that is more frequent with higher capacity,” Drolet said.

Victoria Regional Transit Service hasn’t yet released maps of the new routes. However, they are expected to appear online mid-August.

editor@goldstreamgazette.com