История общественного транспорта Виктории: от трамваев до BRT

Transit system of Greater Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Transit service began on February 22, 1890 by the National Electric Tramway and Light Company with four street cars on two routes. On May 26, 1896 a packed streetcar crashed through the Point Ellice Bridge and 55 people were killed. The Consolidated Electric Railway Company was forced into receivership by the disaster and emerged reorganized as the British Columbia Electric Railway on April 15, 1897. The use of buses started in 1923 for outlying routes. Although trolley buses were tried in 1945, the transit system was completely converted to motor buses in 1948. In 1961 BC Electric became part of BC Hydro, a Crown corporation, before the transit system was moved to the crown agency that would become BC Transit. In 2000, Victoria became the first city in North America to use low floor buses and double decker buses in regular public transit service, as well as the first city to use hybrid double decker buses in 2009. Victoria followed other BC Transit networks in late February 2020 with the introduction of compressed natural gas vehicles to their fleet. Until 2019, all BC Transit vehicles in Victoria were equipped with Trekker Breeze+ annunciators to call out streets for the blind. BC Transit's NextRide automated stop and route announcements took the place of the street announcements, along with electronic screens on all buses showing the next stop. In April 2023, BC Transit launched the first bus rapid transit line in the Victoria region. The new line is branded as Blink RapidBus (also operating as Line 95) and makes fewer stops with faster and more frequent service compared to typical bus lines.

On Friday and Saturday evenings, BC Transit extends service on routes 4, 6, 14, 15, 26, 27/28, 61, and 95 until approximately 2:30 or 3AM. Late Night Service operates with headways of 30 minutes (except routes 26 and 61, which have late night headways of 60 minutes).

Victoria's transit fleet is fully accessible, with either ramps or lifts providing access. Some bus stops are considered inaccessible due to their design, with inadequate space to accommodate wheelchairs or operation of vehicle ramps/lifts. Paratransit services, called HandyDART, are also available. Unlike the regular bus system, HandyDART is contracted out. The system currently has 48 vans with door to door service for people who cannot ride the conventional buses. Booking is required and restrictions on who can use the system apply.

A proposal was made in 2011 to build a light rail line from downtown Victoria, routing along Douglas Street to Uptown, beside the Trans Canada Highway and the Galloping Goose bike path to Six Mile, then along the Old Island Highway through Colwood to Langford. Several options had been offered for LRT phased implementation, with all variations starting in downtown Victoria, and initially providing service to either Six Mile, Colwood Exchange or all the way to Langford Exchange. While the E&N rail corridor was considered as a potential route under this proposal, it wasn't selected as the ideal candidate. Full implementation of the line between downtown and Langford for initial opening was projected to cost $950 million. Long term transit network plans outlined potential rapid transit corridors for the future, including two that spanned from Uptown, with a corridor north to the Saanich Peninsula and Sidney, and a corridor east following McKenzie to UVic. In 2018, British Columbia's Premier John Horgan rejected the idea of light rail service in the Victoria area because the area's low population would not justify light rail.

The E&N rail tracks from up island provide access into Vic West, across the inlet from downtown Victoria. The E&N tracks used to run into downtown via the Johnson Street bridge, but as the bridge has been replaced due to deterioration, the railway component of the bridge has been permanently closed since in 2011. There is no longer rail on the Downtown side of the Johnson Street Bridge. Rail has not been installed on the new bridge, but may be installed in the future. A bike path is being built beside the E&N tracks, while allowing rail service to continue. No formal plans have been announced for commuter rail on this corridor.