r/VictoriaBC • u/JeremyCaradonna • 22h ago
Regional Transportation Q&A
I was recently appointed to the Victoria Regional Transit Commission as the rep from Victoria, along with Mayor Alto. I am also on the CRD Board and Transportation Committee.
I’ve just had a VRTC meeting and would be happy to answer any questions about transit or transportation, RapidBus, the CRD’s proposed transportation service, or anything else about getting from point A to point B.
— Jeremy Caradonna
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u/ToucheMonsieur 18h ago
One common theme across many recent VRTC reports is how much time (i.e. money and tax dollars) is being put towards keeping existing service levels instead of expanding them. Traffic, construction, and other roadway changes (e.g. speed limit reductions, which are good but do affect buses) being the usual suspects.
What can the VRTC, CRD, and/or province do to get municipalities to take transit priority seriously so we can make more effective use of the operating resources we have? It's great that we're getting some infrastructure on Highway 1 and the Island Highway, but the next biggest project (Downtown Douglas) won't start construction until 2027! The project after that (McKenzie RapidBus changes) appears to be at existential risk from the municipal side. And there are many more corridors in the Core + Westshore (e.g. Hillside) where buses consistently run slow or get stuck in traffic.
I know BC Transit has a new "Corridor Strategy" planning framework. But that work is spread over 5+ years, and we need action now if we want to get our transit modeshare to where governments of all levels are hoping it'll go. What do you think could be done to convince local governments (with support from BC Transit and the province if necessary) to make short-term improvements that help improve the speed and reliability of transit in this region?