The Victoria Regional Transit System provides public transportation in the Greater Victoria region of British Columbia, Canada. Its operations are governed by the Victoria Regional Transit Commission in association with BC Transit. There were 25 million trips in 20232024.
History 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.
Operations The transit system has a total fleet of 356 buses on 37 conventional routes and 18 community bus routes covering Greater Victoria including: Victoria, Saanich, Oak Bay, Langford, Esquimalt, View Royal, Colwood, Central Saanich, North Saanich, Sidney, Metchosin, Highlands and Sooke.
Primary bus route destinations are: Downtown Victoria, the University of Victoria, the Royal Oak Exchange in Saanich, the CFB Dockyard in Esquimalt, Langford Exchange in Langford, the Colwood Exchange in Colwood and the B.C. Ferries terminal at Swartz Bay in North Saanich.
Routes
Routes are named for the direction of travel, thus each route has two (or more, if the route utilizes branches or short turns) names, indicating direction. Some routes also change in the evening or on weekends, which changes the route name again.
Routes are divided into four levels: Local routes, which are shown in grey and encompass the majority of routes Frequent routes, which are shown in light blue and have headways of 15 minutes or better, 7 am to 7 pm, Monday to Friday Regional routes, which are shown in light orange and provide limited-stop service RapidBus routes, which are shown in dark orange and provide limited-stop service with headways of 15 minutes or better, 7 am to 10 pm, every day
Some routes, such as 15 Esquimalt / UVic meet the requirements of both the Frequent level and the Regional level, but are listed as Regional routes.
Route frequency in the Victoria Regional Transit System varies greatly, some routes operate on a commuter-focused schedule, such as the 51 UVic / Langford and the 65 Sooke / Downtown via Westhills, with directional departures limited to morning or afternoon times. Other local routes, such as the 43 Royal Roads via Belmont Park, operate infrequently due to low demand. Only one school special operates in the Victoria Regional Transit System, the 17 Cedar Hill, which operates once per direction per weekday. Other buses operate variants of their standard routes around the bell schedule of local schools.
Victoria Regional Transit System Route List Route Route Name Notes 1 South Oak Bay / Downtown 2 James Bay / South Oak Bay 3 James Bay / Royal Jubilee 4 UVic / Downtown via Hillside 5 James Bay / Willows Was a branch of route 2 before 3 January 2022. 6 Royal Oak Exchange / Downtown via Royal Oak Centre 6A Royal Oak Exchange / Downtown via Emily Carr 6B Royal Oak Exchange / Downtown via Chatterton 7 UVic / Downtown via Fairfield 7N UVic / Downtown via Cook Street Vlg Night Route 8 Interurban / Tillicum Centre / Oak Bay 9 Royal Oak / UVic 10 James Bay / Royal Jubilee 11 Tillicum Centre / UVic 12 University Heights / UVic 14 Vic General / UVic 15 Esquimalt / UVic 17 Cedar Hill 21 Interurban / Downtown 21N Interurban Night Route 22 Vic General / Hillside Centre <span style="color:white;">22A</span> <span style="color:black;">Vic General / Hillside Centre via Strawberry Vale</span> <span style="color:black;"></span> 24 Cedar Hill / Tillicum Centre 25 Maplewood / Tillicum Centre 26 UVic / Dockyard via McKenzie-Tillicum 26A UVic / Dockyard via Saanich Rd Short turn service introduced on 3 September 2024. 26B UVic / Dockyard via Carey Rd Short turn service introduced on 3 September 2024. 27 Gordon Head / Downtown 27x Downtown Express 28 Majestic / Downtown 28x Majestic Express 30 Royal Oak Exchange / Downtown 31 Royal Oak Exchange / Downtown 32 Cordova Bay / Royal Oak Exchange 35 Ridge <span style="color:white;">38</span> <span style="color:black;">Royal Oak Exchange / Westhills Exchange</span> <span style="color:black;"></span> 39 Interurban / Royal Oak / UVic <span style="color:white;">40</span> <span style="color:black;">UVic / Dockyard via McKenzie-Admirals</span> <span style="color:black;"></span> 43 Royal Roads via Belmont Park 46 Dockyard / Westhills 47 Goldstream Meadows / Downtown 48 Happy Valley / Downtown 49 Skirt Mountain / Langford Exch 51x Westhills Exch / UVic Express 52 Colwood Exch / Bear Mountain 53 Vic General / Langford Exchange 54 Metchosin / Langford Exchange 55 Happy Valley / Langford Exchange 57 Thetis Heights / Langford Exchange 58 Goldstream Meadows / Langford Exchange 59 Triangle Mountain / Langford Exchange 60 Wishart / Langford Exchange 61 Sooke / Langford / Downtown 63 Otter Point 64 Langford Exch / Sooke via E Sooke and Beecher Bay 65 Sooke / Downtown via Westhills 70 Swartz Bay / Downtown <span style="color:white;">70x</span> <span style="color:black;">Swartz Bay / Downtown Express</span> <span style="color:black;"></span> 71 Swartz Bay / Downtown 72 Swartz Bay / Downtown 72A Swartz Bay / Downtown via Airport 75 Saanichton / Royal Oak / Downtown 76 Swartz Bay / UVic 81 Brentwood / Saanichton / Sidney / Swartz Bay 83 Sidney / Brentwood / Royal Oak 85 North Saanich 87 Tsawout / Sidney via Airport and Dean Park 88 Airport / Sidney via Sidney Industrial 88A Airport / Sidney bypass Sidney Industrial 95 Langford / Downtown RapidBus
Cowichan Valley Regional Transit System
Victoria is also served by two routes in the Cowichan Valley Regional Transit System. While these routes are primarily aimed at commuters, one weekday midday round trip and three Saturday round trips are provided on the 66 CVX.
Cowichan Valley Regional Transit System routes serving Victoria Route Route Name Notes 44 Victoria / Duncan Service rebranded as 66 CVX on 3 September 2023 66 CVX (Cowichan - Victoria Express) 99 SVX (Shawnigan Lake - Victoria Express)
Late Night Service 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 3 am. Late Night Service operates with headways of 30 minutes (except routes 26 and 61, which have late night headways of 60 minutes).
Fares Current fares are listed in the table below:
Children (12 and under) Youth (13-18) and Senior (65+) Adult (19+) Cash Fare Free$3.00 DayPASS$6.00 (or two tickets) 10 Ticket Pack$22.50 Monthly Pass $45$85 Children under age five are required to be accompanied by someone age twelve or older. Until 1 September 2021, children aged five to twelve were required to pay the youth fare.
Daypasses (stylized as DayPASS) are only sold on board the bus. Since Daypasses can be bought using two tickets, they can effectively be purchased for $4.50 by purchasing a pack of ten tickets, which have a price of $2.25 per ticket.
Students at the University of Victoria, Royal Roads University, and Camosun College are part of the U-PASS program. All students pay for subsidized bus passes as part of their fees ($81.00 for four months).
Only one fare zone exists for the Victoria network, as in April 2008 the system eliminated the then $3 two-zone fare.
Accessibility 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.
Fleet New Flyer Industries Xcelsior (XN40) New Flyer Industries Xcelsior (XE40) New Flyer Industries D40LF (Retired) New Flyer Industries DE40LF (Diesel-Electric Hybrid) (Retired) Grande West Vicinity CNG Dennis Trident (Retired) Alexander Dennis Enviro500 Nova Bus LFS
Expansion possibilities 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.
E&N rail corridor 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.
BC Transit has studied the E&N rail corridor as a commuter rail link from West Shore to Victoria. 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.
Board of directors The Victoria Regional Transit System is overseen by an 8-member transit commission. As of June 2025, the board members are:
Mayor Ryan Windsor - Chair District of Central Saanich Mayor Dean Murdock, District of Saanich Councillor Colin Plant, District of Saanich Mayor Kevin Murdoch, District of Oak Bay Mayor Marie-Therese Little, District of Metchosin Mayor Maja Tait, District of Sooke Mayor Maryanne Alto, City of Victoria Councillor Jeremy Caradonna, City of Victoria
References
External links
Victoria Regional Transit System webpage BC Transit 950 million Douglas St light rail proposal