FAQs

• The Victoria Regional Transit Plan (VRTP) is being updated to reflect significant population growth, changes to local and provincial policies around density, and the evolving transit needs of the region
• Since 2011, the region has grown by over 50,000 people, and during that time local governments have updated their Official Community Plans (OCPs) to support higher density and transit use
• The province has recently introduced housing legislation that encourages building housing near transit, which will also shape updates to the transit plan
• The updated plan will align with demographic trends, transit patterns, and sustainability goals, while striving to get more people using transit by 2050
• As we plan for the future, we know that to add more buses, we need facilities to park and maintain them, so alongside updating the regional plan, we are beginning early work on a new Saanich Transit Centre—a facility that will help operate and maintain more buses across the region, ensuring that both planning and infrastructure are ready to meet the needs of a growing population

• The 2025/26 transit plan will include updated network and route design guidelines to shape a 25-year network vision
• A comprehensive review of the regional transit network will be undertaken to ensure current demands are being met, and it’s designed to support efficient, reliable service in the future
• Integration of new infrastructure where multiple modes of transportation come together, such as the Uptown Mobility Hub, along with the expansion of current and future RapidBus lines, and evolving commuter patterns will all contribute to any network redesign
• Feedback from stakeholders and the public will help confirm or determine new connections needed throughout the transit network, where service should be redirected or changed, and in what locations

• The plan will incorporate the recent provincial housing policies under Bills 44 and 47, which promote and encourage transit-oriented development, as well as other new and planned high-density developments across the region
• As a result of Bills 44 and 47, this is a unique time as all OCPs are being updated, something that rarely takes place at the same time and represents an opportunity for all our local government partners and BC Transit to revisit the future of transit across the region
• BC Transit will be consulting with local government partners to ensure the revised plan aligns with updated municipal OCPs and transportation plans to ensure transit supports future residential and commercial growth
• Strategic coordination with the CRD’s Regional Transportation Plan will ensure a coordinated approach to regional transportation and how people travel throughout the region
• The refreshed transit plan will emphasize sustainability, accessibility, and resilience in the face of changing travel behaviors.

• The Victoria Regional Transit Commission (VRTC) currently has an ambitious target of a 15 per cent transit mode share by 2050, which if achieved, would require more than double the current service levels
• The VRTC and local governments are working towards this 15 per cent mode share across the region, which means 15 per cent of the population moves around the region using transit
• Achieving these goals will require a bold, phased approach to service expansion, infrastructure upgrades, and policy alignment, as well as significant investment from all levels of government

Significant funding will be needed to support an expanded transit network, including new operations and maintenance facilities, including funding for the construction of the future Saanich Transit Centre on Glanford Avenue

The need for a new operations and maintenance facility was identified in the 2011 plan, and 15 years later, that need has only grown and is now more urgent than ever to accommodate future fleet growth

Our current facilities are reaching their limit and to add more buses to the transit system, we need another facility to park and maintain them.

The updated transit plan will outline a clear strategy to meet long-term transit goals, however, all these goals rely on local, provincial and federal funding to achieve these targets

• The Victoria Regional Transit Plan has not been updated since 2011 and since then, the region’s population has grown by about 50,000 people, and many local governments have updated their OCPs and transportation strategies
• Beginning this fall, BC Transit and Watt Consulting will engage with First Nations, local governments, key stakeholders and the broader public to discuss the regional transit network and future priorities
• Feedback from the public will help BC Transit identify ways to improve service reliability, efficiency and accessibility, and learn about how transit fits into your life now and in the future
• BC Transit wants to make sure transit services are shared fairly across the region, and that similar communities get similar levels of service and are connected in similar ways
• This includes how we can improve connections to future hubs at Uptown, and how the regional transit network connections are made to help shape a modern transit system that meets today’s needs and plans for tomorrow
• Public engagement will include discussions about trade-offs, such as directness and coverage, number of one-seat rides and service frequency, and how services like RapidBus should be prioritized across the region.

These considerations include:

• Direct transit service can sometimes provide convenient service to some areas but the trade off is other areas may have lower service levels or require transfers to get to their destinations
• Providing more even service levels and coverage across the region could result in less capacity on highly used routes and may result in pass ups or undependable transit service
• While some service levels could be higher on other routes, they may be underutilized for what the area needs
• One seat rides represent the number of trips taken where the customer gets right to their destination without a transfer
• If more transfers were required and there were fewer one seat rides, the transit system could function better as a whole, but some may view this as inconvenient
• RapidBus lines could be prioritized to meet current and forecasted future demand or could focus on creating and growing demand by offering great service in areas with large potential to grow transit ridership