Travellers hoping to take their bikes between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland will have better bus options this summer.
TransLink is launching a new service on July 1 for cyclists travelling between the Tsawwassen ferry terminal and Bridgeport Canada Line Station. The so-called Bike Bus is a retrofitted bus that has seven interior bike racks, on top of the two front-storage racks on a standard bus.
The service will run between Bridgeport Station and the ferry terminal once an hour, in sync with hourly ferry sailings between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay.
TransLink says the route is one of the most popular for its cycling customers and the Bike Bus will allow more of them to get to and from the ferries via the Massey Tunnel.
“The return of warm weather means more people are cycling to their favourite B.C. destinations,” says TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn, who says launching the new service will help summer travellers explore more of the province.
The Bike Bus runs on the No. 620 route with separate loading and unloading bays at Bridgeport and Ladner Exchange. It will be labelled as a No. 900 Bike Bus to differentiate it from the existing ferry-bound buses.
The Bike Bus starts on Canada Day and runs through Sept. 5 on Fridays, weekends and holidays, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. If successful this summer, it could become a permanent seasonal service.
In a related move, the City of Victoria launched a free bike valet service this week, which allows cyclists to drop off their bikes in a secure facility near city hall.
