Opinions are mixed on the West ShoreB次元官网网址檚 new RapidBus line, with some residents flagging accessibility concerns and saying itB次元官网网址檚 further proof bus service in Greater Victoria is too downtown-centric.
The 95 Blink RapidBus is set to replace the 50 Langford/Downtown route and will make fewer stops but run more frequently at peak times, with the aim of getting commuters to work quicker.
While some are supportive, others say it doesnB次元官网网址檛 address the West ShoreB次元官网网址檚 needs. Langford resident Lara Forbes has two teenage children with special needs who struggle with using transit. Her eldest child usually takes Route 51, which goes from Langford to the University of Victoria, but buses run infrequently with service set to be trimmed with a new schedule coming into effect on April 10.
If those buses are full, ForbesB次元官网网址� eldest struggles to navigate the bus transfers she needs to make it to campus.
Forbes says that transfer involves crossing busy roads and sometimes walking long distances with the added time pressure of potentially missing the connecting bus B次元官网网址� a problem Forbes expects will be exacerbated by the new 95 route.
B次元官网网址淪omebody in a wheelchair canB次元官网网址檛 walk. Somebody whoB次元官网网址檚 got problems with their feet like me canB次元官网网址檛 walk. Somebody whoB次元官网网址檚 older canB次元官网网址檛 walk B次元官网网址� So youB次元官网网址檙e just saying, B次元官网网址極h well, pretend youB次元官网网址檙e a fit person who can walk,B次元官网网址� but thatB次元官网网址檚 not the majority of the people who ride the bus.B次元官网网址�
ForbesB次元官网网址� youngest opted to attend Camosun College over UVic purely because of the better transit options.
She notes the way most routes send people downtown and then splay out to various destinations throughout Saanich and the Peninsula doesnB次元官网网址檛 seem logical post-pandemic.
B次元官网网址淢ost people donB次元官网网址檛 go downtown, COVID killed downtown B次元官网网址� We closed the office downtown and all the businesses that can work from home now do. Nobody works downtown anymore. The demand for every single bus in the entire fleet to be servicing downtown is just not logical anymore.B次元官网网址�
Tanya Mitchell commutes downtown from Langford for her job at a medical clinic. Both the stops she uses to get on and off are being discontinued with the switch from Route 50 to 95, meaning sheB次元官网网址檒l have to travel further on foot. For her, itB次元官网网址檚 not a massive impact, but she worries about people with accessibility issues struggling.
B次元官网网址淚t feels like the West Shore gets forgotten about.B次元官网网址�
A spokesperson for BC Transit said decisions on cutting stops were not made lightly and were done with feedback from local government partners on the West Shore.
Decisions about service levels are made by BC Transit along with the Victoria Regional Transit Commission, a body comprised of mayors from municipalities in Greater Victoria. Seven members sit on the commission (plus a student representative) but only two are from West Shore communities. One is Sooke Mayor Maja Tait and the other is Metchosin Mayor Marie-Therese Little.
BC TransitB次元官网网址檚 plan for the West Shore includes restructuring routes to move more service to growing areas like Skirt Mountain, Belmont Market, West Hills and Royal Bay.
BC Transit cited a Capital Regional District survey which found B次元官网网址渁bout one-third of West Shore residents now commute within their home community,B次元官网网址� precipitating a restructuring of West Shore bus routes.
Phase 1 of that restructuring is set to be implemented in 2024.
READ MORE: West Shore-Downtown rapid buses to get rolling next month
bailey.moreton@goldstreamgazette.com
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