Sooke bus service will improve this fall as B.C. Transit has announced an earlier morning departure of the No. 61 bus will go into effect, starting in September.
A 5 a.m. service start will be added to the existing 5:32 a.m. service in response to requests from transit users for an earlier departure time.
“This expansion was made possible because of the time savings we’ve had through the expansion of bus lanes on Douglas Street,” said James Wadsworth, transit planning manager.
“We’re saving 13 minutes a day in travel time there, and that saving means we can redirect resources to other locations.”
The decision to improve the service from Sooke is only part of the overall improvements that Sooke residents will experience in the future, Wadsworth said.
“As we work with the province to improve bus lanes, there will be more improvements because of the savings we experience elsewhere,” he said.
Wadsworth added Sooke residents will also experience better transit service once they arrive on the West Shore.
“For example, there’ll be better connections for Sooke residents out to UVic and locations in Victoria,” he said.
Transit’s plans also include the purchase of eight double-decker buses that will be assigned to the No. 50 Langford/Downtown Victoria route and the No. 61 bus to Sooke. Those buses are expected to be in place by the fall of 2020.
“This is certainly a great start,” said Sooke Mayor Maja Tait, who also has a seat on the Victoria Regional Transit Commission.
“I’m excited about these improvements, but there is obviously a long way to go.”
Tait is a vocal critic of Victoria’s plan to provide free public transit for young people under the age of 18, starting in the fall.
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“There are only three sources of funds for transit improvements and funding, the farebox, gas taxes and (municipal) property taxes,” Tait said.
“We’ve advocated with the federal and provincial governments for revenue from the gas tax to avoid having to increase property taxes. And obviously, raising fares is counter to the idea of increasing ridership. But in Sooke we need more routes and more buses. That’s our priority.”
The announced changes to Sooke’s transit service come at the same time as B.C. Transit is conducting a transit review for the community to examine possible transit improvements in and out of Sooke as well as for the transit services available within the community.
“They’ve done a lot of public consultation already and their activities tie in nicely with our own transportation plan that’s currently underway. Hopefully, together, these reviews will lead to a better transportation strategy for Sooke,” Tait said.
But residents shouldn’t expect an overnight improvement to transportation.
“The current decisions for service improvements happened about 18 months ago (at the transit commission) but it took this long to get them implemented,” she said.
“This latest move has been in the works for some time, but there’s always a delay because it requires the funding, planning and equipment.”
Wadsworth said the transit commission approved the current plan in June 2018 but added that it is also planning further service expansions and more buses to be added to the fleet in the future.
“We’ll be releasing full details on the latest changes in August, and will be announcing additional plans as time goes on,” he said.
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