For the first time in 55 years, a new company will be carrying bus passengers from downtown Victoria to downtown Vancouver. On Monday, Victoria-based Wilson’s Transportation takes over the cross-water bus service, previously operated by Pacific Coach Lines.
Wilson’s was awarded the three-year contract last fall and has been gearing up to take over, adding six new buses to its fleet of more than 140 vehicles, with plans for four more before May. The company also gave four of its casual drivers full-time jobs and hired two others.
“It’s exciting for us ... this is a long-standing service and has been an essential transportation corridor into Victoria and we look forward to taking over the service with new branding and working with B.C. Ferries to grow it and make it seamless for both residents and tourists alike,” said chief executive John Wilson.
Wilson’s will call the service B.C. Ferries Connector, and will run three trips per day from each side of the water until the end of May, when it ramps up to seven trips a day.
Passengers will see no change initially as the schedule is the same as that operated by Pacific Coach Lines, and will include options such as service to Vancouver International Airport and Canada Place in Vancouver for cruise ship passengers. The fares will also remain the same. The cost of the most popular route — downtown Victoria to downtown Vancouver — will remain $44.95 one-way.
It will also sell tickets on board B.C. Ferries, as PCL does, and will have buses based in Vancouver to handle overflow traffic from walk-on passengers.
Wilson said they intend to take the next nine months to get a handle on the service before making any changes.
“Then we will put our stamp on it and tweak it to make it both financially viable and good for passengers as well,” he said.
In recent years, PCL had cut back its service, saying fewer people were riding its buses because of improved public transit options.
Wilson expects rising tourism traffic and a right-sizing of the service in terms of overhead and operating costs will make the service a viable business.
“I think tourism is on a big rise here with the American dollar being what it is. We foresee U.S. tourists coming up more often and more Canadian travellers staying in the country, and Victoria is the place to go,” Wilson said.
He noted tourism represents about 75 per cent of the service’s revenue.
Wilson said the service dovetails nicely with the rest of Wilson’s Transportation’s offerings.
“It’s a year-round service and we are always looking for year-round contracts with a proven, reliable entity like B.C. Ferries,” he said.
“We think with the right service levels and some cutbacks and synergies it will be a good fit for our company.”
While the contract with B.C. Ferries is for three years, there is an option for a two-year extension.
Wilson’s has more than 180 employees at peak times and has offices in Victoria, Campbell River, Chemainus, Nanaimo and Vancouver.
In addition to the cross-water service, the company also offers airport shuttle service and sightseeing, and has expanded its fleet to handle the growing cruise-ship business.
