Four people climbed aboard the City of Langford’s new luxury commuter bus for its first scheduled run into Victoria on Monday morning.
“The morning run was really good. It went off without a hitch,” said project manager Jeff Warwick. “We had low ridership today, but that’s what we expected. We’re focussing on getting the word out and getting people on the bus.”
The Langtoria Greenline bus, operated by Wilson’s Transportation, has a capacity of 50 passengers. For a monthly fee of $115.50 or $15.75 for a round-trip day pass, passengers are treated to a comfortable seat, free coffee from the Fountain Diner, a free copy of the Times Colonist and free WiFi.
“What went well is the people that were on the bus just loved it. I thought that was going to be the case,” said Warwick. “They got on the bus and they had their Wifi and they were so happy they had this bus service. So getting the word out is the next real goal and getting more people to try it.”
Langford Mayor Stew Young wasn’t disappointed by the small number of passengers on the inaugural run. “We had somebody on it. That’s awesome,” said Young. “We’ll build it up, but it will probably take three months. You’ve got to give these things time. How are you going to get people out of their cars when they’ve paid for parking for the last month?”
The bus service was created to help reduce vehicle traffic during construction of the McKenzie interchange and as an alternative to the basic bus service offered by B.C. Transit. Drivers can expect longer delays on the Trans-Canada when construction starts.
Ridership will probably pick up at the beginning of the month when people decide whether to take the bus or continue paying for parking in downtown Victoria, Young predicts.
It’s a work in progress, in terms of figuring out scheduling and stops. If the service is popular, the city plans to add more buses and possibly new routes to places such as the University of Victoria. “We said we’d review it in three months. We’re committed for a year, but we can make changes tomorrow,” said Young.
Young’s decision on whether to support a commuter train on the E&N rail line between Langford and Victoria might depend on the popularity of the Langtoria Greenline bus.
“We might be off the mark as to how many people will take the train,” he said. “If the bus doesn’t work, that’s a strong message to say: ‘Hey, you’re not getting me out of my car.’ Politicians have to be very careful working on the train service. If I can fill three buses, I think the train would be viable. If I can’t fill one bus ... it will help me make my decision where not to waste money.”
Langford is subsidizing the service by up to $60,000. This will be offset by advertising revenue.
The bus left its first stop at the Langford Aquatic Centre at the Westhills YM/YWCA at 6:35 a.m. At 6:55 a.m., it pulled away from the Fountain Diner in Goldstream Village and began the trip into town.
It arrived at Uptown at 7:20 a.m., then stopped at Mayfair mall, the Selkirk waterway, then on Douglas Street at Discovery, Pandora, Fort and the old bus depot. The bus started its evening run at 5:10 p.m. to get passengers back to Langford by 6 p.m.
“We’re talking to people, trying to get feedback about the schedule,” said Warwick. “We’re not going to make everyone happy. But we want to make the most people happy.”
Three riders bought monthly passes. The fourth bought a day pass to try it out, said Warwick.
An average of 83,000 vehicles travelled daily on the Trans-Canada Highway just west of Helmcken interchange in 2015, according to the province.
