The West Shore will soon see a significant increase in transit service to Bear Mountain and Westhills.

B次元官网网址淥ur greatest focus during this service improvement has been to optimize resources in the West Shore and provide the best transit service possible,B次元官网网址� said Meribeth Burton, spokesperson for B.C. Transit.

B次元官网网址淔or at least the last two years, community members of both Westhills and Bear Mountain have appeared before the transit councils asking for service to these high-growth communities. There were presentations by the developers on Westhills. There have been petitions, there have been letters and delegations,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭his was a natural progression and weB次元官网网址檙e excited.B次元官网网址�

The changes take effect Dec. 29. They include:

B次元官网网址� An expansion of Route 52 Colwood up into Bear Mountain, with hourly service and buses every 30 minutes during peak rush hour times;

B次元官网网址� Route 57 Westhills will see hourly service to the Langford Exchange;

B次元官网网址� The Western Transit Exchange, next to West Shore Parks and Recreation, will be renamed the Colwood Transit Exchange. B.C. Transit will also extend a commuter service to Latoria Road and Happy Valley.

B次元官网网址淭he No. 52 pretty much just operated between Colwood Exchange and Langford Exchange,B次元官网网址� said James Wadsworth, a senior transit planner with B.C. Transit.

The route will now connect Bear Mountain, Millstream Village shopping centre, downtown Langford, West Shore Town Centre, Royal Roads University and Colwood Corners, all on one transit route.

B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 the route where weB次元官网网址檝e put a significant increase in for service hours,B次元官网网址� he said.

B次元官网网址淢ayor and council have been working on this with B.C. Transit for quite a while now,B次元官网网址� said Langford Coun. Matt Sahlstrom. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 giving us easier access to those areas without people having to get into their cars, and we can get people into the smaller areas. ItB次元官网网址檚 going to make accessibility a lot better for everybody involved.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 live on one of the routes on Triangle Mountain, so IB次元官网网址檓 certainly going to appreciate it,B次元官网网址� he said.

Other changes include more frequent service on Bay Street from the Route 10 Royal Jubilee/Songhees, and increased service to the Route 14 UVic/Vic General. Service is being adjusted on the Route 25 Maplewood/Colwood to better align with school schedules.

B次元官网网址淭his is not a service expansion,B次元官网网址� said Burton, adding that 5,000 more service hours were already added in September. Instead, the improvements have been a result of re-allocating resources to maximize efficiency.

B次元官网网址淥ur planning team sat down and went route by route, trip by trip, to see which ones were not performing,B次元官网网址� she said. The result was a complete rewriting of the transit schedules to ensure that demand for reliable and frequent transit is being met, especially on the West Shore.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e trying to align our services with growth and development, and thatB次元官网网址檚 whatB次元官网网址檚 happening here,B次元官网网址� said Wadsworth.

For a complete list of service changes, visit bit.ly/1sBQncF.

acowan@goldstreamgazette.com