Victoria to Pilot Expanded Airport Service

Victoria Transit Bus Downtown

The Victoria Regional Transit Commission has voted to expand service to Victoria International Airport without reducing service to Sidney residents.

Staff presented Commissioners with two options, along with a third option to maintain the status quo until expansion funding becomes available.

Route 72 will change, with select early-morning and late-night trips serving the airport. Routes 88 and 87 will continue to provide daytime service to the airport and to residents on the Peninsula.

The changes will not take effect immediately. Rollout is expected as early as September, or possibly January, pending the arrival of 39 new double-decker buses.

These new buses are expected to free up approximately three thousand service hours and two peak buses. Funding full service to the airport would require between 15- and 20-thousand service hours and is not something the VRTC can do unilaterally, even when there is a surplus.

The BC Transit Act requires service expansions to be co-funded by the province. Full airport service is included in the VRTC’s funding request for the upcoming year and is also part of the 25-year Victoria Regional Transit Plan, which is expected to be adopted this summer.

Commissioners noted that expanded airport service benefits not only travellers, but also the hundreds of workers employed at the airport.

However, staff flagged potential knock-on effects caused by added travel time on Route 72. The popular Route 70 already has the highest rate of overcrowding in the system.

Staff also noted that routes bound for Swartz Bay, including the 72, are timed to connect with ferry departures. The additional travel time would require the bus to leave ten minutes earlier, breaking connections with other routes.

Staff will analyze options to improve these connections, particularly on Sunday evenings.

The changes will operate as a pilot, allowing staff to collect data on how travellers actually use transit to and from the airport.

Staff said airport-bound riders will pay the standard fare, though future service expansion could include a different fare model and possibly different vehicles.

Public feedback showed strong support for direct airport service, alongside concerns about travel time, capacity, and impacts on existing riders.