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New bus line replacing Route 50 to Langford to have fewer stops, more frequent service

Route 95 offers a faster experience, but cuts some stops on the way to the West Shore

A new bus route from downtown Victoria to the West Shore offers fewer stops than Route 50 from Langford to Downtown, but faster service with more buses and shorter waits, says BC Transit.

The service is the answer to a promise made in 2021 to increase the number of rapid service buses in the region - specifically from the West Shore to downtown, but Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Rob Fleming said this is just the first of many more to come.

“We’re going to continue to work with BC Transit, we’re going to continue to work with our partners in local government to provide transportation services that move people around our region faster,” Fleming said during a press conference in Victoria on Tuesday.

The Blink RapidBus Route 95 will replace the current Route 50 and can be distinguished through its orange indicator colour.

BC Transit vice-president of strategy and public affairs Christy Ridout said the new route will run every seven to eight minutes during peak hours and every 15 minutes during non-peak hours.

“Overall, our frequency is going to increase by 21 more additional weekday trips, which is a 12-per-cent increase, 11 additional trips on Saturdays and 20 additional trips on Sundays,” Ridout said. “The BlinkRapid Bus is also going to stop at fewer bus stops, which means our customers are going to spend more time traveling and less time stopped.”

Ridout also said the line will be implementing BC Transit’s new fare collection app Umo in the summer.

“It will be on this line, it will be on every route in the system and we expect that it will make for a very fast boarding experience and keep the bus moving forward quickly,” she said.

The stops this new line will no longer serve include Elliot, Burnside/Summit, Field/Bay, Herald, Granderson/Aldwynd, Peatt, Lequesne, Orono and Jacklin.

READ MORE: Greater Victoria transit riders to see tap-and-go fare systems this spring


 

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