Salt Spring Island Transit Future Service Plan
Consultation has concluded
BC Transit and the Capital Regional District have completed this plan. Review the engagement summary here and the final plan here.
Thanks to all who shared their thoughts on the future of transit service on Salt Spring Island! We appreciate your commitment to make transit better in your community
What is a Transit Future Service Plan?
A planning document that identifies improvements to transit services and describes the path to implement those improvements. The plan typically focuses on changes to be made in the short to medium term.
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Did you know?
The Salt Spring Island Transit System was established in 2007, with ridership growing from 100,000 in 2014 to over 116,000 in 2019, an increase of 16%. As of 2019/2020, the system was comprised of 8 routes, 5 light duty buses, and 8,000 service hours. The system currently operates seven days a week.
Salt Spring Island Transit system is cost-shared between the Capital Regional District and BC Transit. Decisions regarding fares, routes, and service levels are made by the Regional District based on information and planning provided by BC Transit.
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Transit Availability
The hours during the day when transit operates (span) determine when you can travel, while frequency is the time between buses that creates the schedule.
Key Takeaway: Transit service is provided in Salt Spring seven days per week on all routes, except on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Service span is from 5:40 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. on weekdays, Saturdays from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., and Sundays from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Seasonal changes to routes 2, 3, 4, and 9 add service from May to September.
The Details : The graphic here provides a summary of when service is available. Example of how to read the table: On Fridays during summer, route 1 has service between 8 am – 4 pm with service every 142 minutes between 1 pm and 4 pm. Dark green is most frequent, while the darker the blue, the less frequent the service.
*If you want to see a larger version of the Span and Frequency Table, right click on the image above and click "Open image in new tab." Now you're ready to transit nerd out!
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Service Provided and System Performance
Salt Spring Island operates during three service periods which correspond loosely with the seasons: spring (May-June), summer (end June to early October), and fall/winter (October-May). These seasons coincide with BC Ferries schedule changes and offer the most service in summer and the least in fall/winter to match demand.
Key Takeaway: Transit service and ridership on Salt Spring Island both increase during the summer months and decrease in the winter. The most notable changes occur on weekends.
The Details: During spring, the transit system carries about 372 passengers daily, on average. In the Summer, that number increases to 388, but then drops in the winter to about 274 average daily rides. These numbers correspond with the changes in number of trips offered in each season as you can see in the graph on this page.
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Route Performance
Rides per hour (number of people boarding the bus for each hour the bus is on the road) is the metric most commonly used to measure performance.
Key Takeaways: Route 2 Fulford is the busiest route in the system, followed by routes 5 Fernwood and 3 Vesuvius which also connect the most populated areas to ferries and Ganges Village.
Route 4 Long Harbour* is typically popular in the summer, while route 1 Ganges Local remains mostly constant throughout the seasons and despite the pandemic.
Route 9 was the only route to gain ridership through the pandemic compared to 2019.
*Long Harbour was closed for much of summer 2020, likely contributing to low ridership on route 4 Long Harbour
