BC Transit (Victoria Regional Transit System) news and issues

[jklymak]

^ I'm 98% sure you used to be able to buy a one-day pass from drivers in Victoria, so I think it is feasible.

[martini]

My guess is if it was feasible...they'd be doing it.
I can see it being a time sucker personally.

[piltdownman]

Originally Posted by martini

No. It's simply not feasible. The logistics of keeping track of every driver's inventory would be mind-boggling. Not to mention the time wasted.
Drivers are not vendors.

Sorry if I was unclear. I'm not saying busdrivers should sell the scratch-type day passes you get from stores, but simply the same paper transfer with electronic strip as you normally get. Just instead of only being valid for 90 minutes, its good until the end of the transit day. No option to get a future day, just until the end of that day.

[VicHockeyFan]

Originally Posted by piltdownman

Sorry if I was unclear. I'm not saying busdrivers should sell the scratch-type day passes you get from stores, but simply the same paper transfer with electronic strip as you normally get. Just instead of only being valid for 90 minutes, its good until the end of the transit day. No option to get a future day, just until the end of that day.

Transfers have an electronic strip?

[martini]

Originally Posted by piltdownman

Sorry if I was unclear. I'm not saying busdrivers should sell the scratch-type day passes you get from stores, but simply the same paper transfer with electronic strip as you normally get. Just instead of only being valid for 90 minutes, its good until the end of the transit day. No option to get a future day, just until the end of that day.

Ok that makes sense. I had the current day pass model in my head.

[martini]

Originally Posted by VicHockeyFan

Transfers have an electronic strip?

In Vancouver. Not here.

[VicHockeyFan]

Originally Posted by martini

In Vancouver. Not here.

Ya, OK, that makes sense, as you can use them on the Skytrains and SeaBus.

[martini]

Originally Posted by VicHockeyFan

Ya, OK, that makes sense, as you can use them on the Skytrains and SeaBus.

Yes.
On a side note I have to say how impressed I was with their system.

[Coreyburger]

Their fare boxes make no sense, however. The critical thing for running a quick transit system is dwell time and their fareboxes slow boarding down. Slower boarding = longer dwell times = slower journey. Their fare boxes also don't take bills like ours do and the magnetic reader is actually a printer as well, so the upass system here with the magnetic swipe wouldn't work.

[Bernard]

You can not buy daypasses from bus drivers in Victoria and I do not know when you were able to do that

[Holden West]

Let's face it: any attempt at a financial transaction involving BC Transit is about as easy and straightforward as buying a loaf of bread in the Soviet Union.

[martini]

Originally Posted by arfenarf

Not to change the subject or anything, but has anyone else spotted the oddball bus running the 27/28 run on Shelbourne these last few days? It has round headlamps and a blue/white BC Transit livery I haven't seen before.

I am assuming that it's here on loan to replace a bus sent to the Lower Mainland for the Olympics but don't know for sure. Has anyone seen any of our nice green hybrid buses on the road recently?

When BC Transit Vancouver borrows a bus from BC Transit Victoria, does a transaction take place?

I know I saw a hybrid yesterday, so some must still be here.

I was on the #22 yesterday with one of the Montreal buses.
Everything inside is in french.
So instead of the red light saying 'stop requested', it says 'demand arrete'.
Anyway there was something wrong with it and we had to switch buses at the TC.

[G-Man]

So I saw a bus yesterday that sort of looked like a nova bus but was brand spanking new and had the smaller lights on the front like the Dbl Deckers. It was in BCT new colours bus number 9325. Anyone know what type of bus this is and when we got it?

[Holden West]

I took the bus through Saanich yesterday and was surprised it went right through the toll gate into Butchart Gardens. I thought this was interesting in light of the fact the bus only started going to the friggin' airport a few years ago. But I guess the Gardens is responsible for millions in tax revenue and tourist dollars so you can't expect visitors to slog it all the way to the public road.

Which got me thinking: is there any other place the bus travels through private or restricted property? I'm thinking possibly Dockyard/Naden.

[VicHockeyFan]

Originally Posted by Holden West

I took the bus through Saanich yesterday and was surprised it went right through the toll gate into Butchart Gardens. I thought this was interesting in light of the fact the bus only started going to the friggin' airport a few years ago. But I guess the Gardens is responsible for millions in tax revenue and tourist dollars so you can't expect visitors to slog it all the way to the public road.

Which got me thinking: is there any other place the bus travels through private or restricted property? I'm thinking possibly Dockyard/Naden.

Hillside Mall.
I guess you might say the terminal at UVic is not just a public road, same with the stop at Swartz Bay.

[Bob Fugger]

Originally Posted by VicHockeyFan

Hillside Mall.
I guess you might say the terminal at UVic is not just a public road, same with the stop at Swartz Bay.

Tillicum Mall, too.

[Bernard]

The Airport itself is not public where the bus stops.

Buses also go onto the Camosun Interurban Campus and onto Royal Roads and neighbouring DnD land.

[Coreyburger]

Buses used to (still do?) go through Hillside Mall.

[martini]

Originally Posted by Coreyburger

Buses used to (still do?) go through Hillside Mall.

The #22 has a stop at the Sears entrance.

[Lover Fighter]

Originally Posted by piltdownman

Selling day-passes on the ferry is a no brainer, except I would imagine it will take a long time for people to realize they can get them in the giftshop.

They actually just started selling Translink daypasses on the ferries (couldn't be longer than two weeks they've been doing this) but you have to buy them at the coach bus office, and not the gift shop for some reason.

[phx]

I bought a daypass at the gift shop just last week.

[seymour201]

We also bought our day passes at the gift shop. figured the stack was gonna last maybe another 10 minutes at the rate people were buying them on Saturday. What a difference rapid transit makes to demand on a system. I was extremely impressed with Translink. Ferry to YVR to Downtown in about an hour. No more PCL for us.

[Lover Fighter]

Okay, I'm glad they're selling them at the gift shop now too. I sent BC Ferries an email and I didn't expect them to act on it.

[Bob Fugger]

Originally Posted by seymour201

We also bought our day passes at the gift shop. figured the stack was gonna last maybe another 10 minutes at the rate people were buying them on Saturday. What a difference rapid transit makes to demand on a system. I was extremely impressed with Translink. Ferry to YVR to Downtown in about an hour. No more PCL for us.

The previous public transit route required a bus change in Delta, followed by an hour long bus trip to Surrey to get on at King George Station. It took over 2 hours to get into downtown, which was deterrent enough to take PCL.

Today, you get off the ferry, jump on the 620, get off at Bridgeport Station on Canada Line - and boom, your downtown. PCL ought to be scared - they charge over $80 roundtrip for their service. The equivalent roundtrip on BCF & Translink is around $30 and far more convenient, given that you can access any point on the Translink network (especially via SkyTrain) rather than having to go all the way to Main/Terminal (or the drop offs along Cambie) and then take SkyTrain.

Price, convenience and PCL's disorganized, asinine customer service over the Olympics are reasons enough for me to never have to take PCL again.

[G-Man]

Is there an express from Downtown to Swartz Bay as the old 70 route was pretty meandering before you to the ferry.