After discussions on commuting with a variety of residents, politicians and industry officials for our West Shore on the Go series, which ends today, we wondered where our part of the Capital Region will head next?
As in most metropolitan areas, it appears Greater Victorians have an appetite for public transportation options, whether that’s by bus, rail or otherwise. Few enjoy spending their mornings with their right foot oscillating between the gas and the brake when they could be on public transit, book or smartphone in hand.
According to BC Transit, 10 to 15 per cent of all people travelling downtown on weekday mornings are doing so by bus, yet I don’t think anyone would argue that this figure has made the roads coming in from and out to the West Shore any less congested.
Move that figure to 20, 25 or even 30 per cent, and you’re likely looking at a noticeable difference. Add in the potential for other public transportation corridors, and suddenly a Colwood to Victoria commute doesn’t sound so daunting.
The key is that it has to be fast. It has to help shave time off commuters’ travel and give them more free time to spend at home with their families or pursuing hobbies.
It also has to be convenient. It has to fit into the schedules of different kinds of workers, whether they work 8 to 4, 9 to 5, 10 to 6 or some combination of shifts.
It has to be flexible enough to allow riders to occasionally alter their plans, to be able to go to an appointment or grab a beer or a glass of wine with a co-worker on a Friday, or get home in time to take their kids to soccer practice or dance class. Some individuals will always need their cars because those are the realities of their jobs, whether they’re sales associates, construction contractors or newspaper reporters.
But clearly more than the current 10 to 15 per cent of commuters would be taking the bus if they believed it met their needs for speed and convenience.
It takes a lot to change a person’s commuting habits, but here’s hoping systemic improvements can happen sooner rather than later, and that the Colwood Crawl can become the Colwood Express.