With demand expected to increase, BC Transit has announced there will be more bus trips between downtown Victoria and the Swartz Bay ferry terminal as of July 1.
That increased Route 70 service will also include more southbound trips that bypass Sidney.
July 1 will also see several changes for riders across the Capital Region as seasonal route changes come into effect.
With schools shutting down for summer vacation, BC Transit is removing trips that serve K-12 school times on routes 4, 6, 14 and 61. The bus operator says this seasonal adjustment happens every year. Route 17 will also shut down until the fall.
Routes spanning the region will see trip times adjusted to assist with timed connections to other routes, according to BC Transit. Those include 46,52,63,64,75,87 and 88. Trip times also changed on routes 61 and 65 to improve connections with other routes, BC Transit said.
Some changes are also coming to the 95 RapidBus line between downtown Victoria and the West Shore after it recently marked its first year in service.
"We conducted analysis on the service and made slight adjustments during the popular travel times in order to better support demand and our operations," a BC Transit spokesperson said of the Route 95 changes.
As those adjustments are made to Greater Victoria's sole fast-transit route, BC Transit is asking the public for feedback on its plans for the McKenzie RapidBus line, which will run between Uptown and the University of Victoria. RapidBus lines include transit priority lanes and signals, have fewer stops between major destination centres and are more frequent than typical routes.
The McKenzie RapidBus route is several years away from coming online, but the transit operator has launched a survey to gauge the public's thoughts on changes to several routes. The routes that could see changes include: 24 (Cedar Hill/Tillicum Centre), 25 (Maplewood/Tillicum Centre), 26 (Dockyard/UVic) and 72 (Swartz Bay/Downtown).
The online survey is open until July 2 and can be found here.
