Letter from Susan Brice, Victoria Regional Transit Commission re: Transit Future Plan Update

Victoria Regional Transit Commission

August 20, 2018

Councillor Susan Brice – Chair District of Saanich

Mayor Richard Atwell District of Saanich

Mayor Alice Finall District of North Saanich

Mayor Lisa Helps City of Victoria

Mayor Barb Desjardins Township of Esquimalt

Mayor Carol Hamilton City of Colwood

Mayor Maja Tait District of Sooke

Councillor Geoff Young City of Victoria

Mayor & Councilors Town of View Royal 45 View Royal Avenue Victoria, BC V9B 1A5

Re: Transit Future Plan Update

The Victoria Region’s Transit Future Plan provides a vision for transit over the next 25 years to support the economic, social and environmental sustainability goals of the region. The Transit Future Plan was based on local government land use and transportation plans including the Regional Growth Strategy and Official Community Plans.

As a way to keep our local partners informed about the progress towards the vision of the Transit Future Plan and implementation of the Transit Future Network, an annual update report is attached. The Transit Future Update Report highlights transit improvement initiatives completed in the last year as well as initiatives that are being planned for the next several years.

A number of transit improvements were made in 2017/18 that work towards the goals and visions outlined in the Transit Future Plan. Most notable was the work on the rapid transit corridor connecting downtown Victoria and the Westshore. Three bus lane projects commenced construction in 2017: City of Victoria southbound lanes from Tolmie to Hillside, northbound Ministry lanes from Saanich to Burnside Bridges and the McKenzie Interchange shoulder lanes. In addition to the construction of these projects, a study is underway to identify transit priority improvements from Goldstream to Highway 1 along the Island Highway Corridor. These projects will reduce travel time for customers making transit a more attractive travel option.

In addition to infrastructure projects, a 20,000-hour service expansion was introduced in September 2017. This allowed for new services in the Westshore and Peninsula, and addressed overcrowding and reliability issues on existing routes in the Core. The two cent gas tax increase that was approved by the Province will enable continued investment into the transit system.

Another success worth noting is the increase in transit mode share. The 2017 Origin/Destination study found a 20% increase in reported transit travel in the capital region from 6.5% to 7.8%. The increase in transit travel can be attributed to the service and infrastructure investments made over the last five years.

On the horizon for the Victoria Regional Transit System is NextRide. The Victoria fleet is being equipped with Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) technology so that customers can use their phones to track where their bus is in the system in real time. In addition to benefiting the customers, AVL information will provide BC Transit with the data to better direct buses for schedule reliability and will allow us to push alerts out to customers in case of detours, accidents and other events that may impact regular service.

A further expansion of 10,000 hours will be introduced in September 2018. This expansion will include a new crosstown route to provide improved service to Camosun Interurban campus. In addition, there will be a number of schedule and routing changes to community routes on the Peninsula and enhanced connections between downtown and the Victoria International Airport.

The Transit Commission remains committed to working with municipalities to make transit a viable and attractive transportation choice for transit customers in View Royal and the region as a whole. If council is looking for additional information, we’d be please to send a representative to attend a council meeting to discuss regional transit and the Transit Future Plan.

Together, with your support, we will continue to provide transportation solutions that connect people and communities to a more sustainable future.

Yours sincerely,

Susan Brice, Chair Victoria Regional Transit Commission cc: Commission Members Attachment: Victoria Regional Transit Future Plan: 2018 Annual Progress Update