Cowichan Valley Regional Transit System
Cowichan Valley Regional Transit System serves the Cowichan Valley Regional District in British Columbia. This system is operated by First Canada under-contract to BC Transit.
System History
- Prior to opening of system, only public transit in Cowichan Valley was via Victoria- Nanaimo Intercity bus route which operated via Trans Canada Hwy, as well as limited service via Cowichan Bay Rd, and via Chemainus Rd.
- Lake Cowichan had bus service to Duncan via Vancouver Island Coach Lines (1930s-1965) then Cowichan Valley Stage Lines (1965-1978) but had been without a bus service for 15 years at time of system start up.
- May 1987- Cowichan Paratransit begins operation with one bus providing on limited demand door to door service for seniors and disabled persons.
- August 29, 1993- Conventional system begins operation with a fleet of 3 ELF buses. North Cowichan Municipality and several Cowichan Valley Regional District Electoral areas initially declined to be part of the system due to public resistance to tax increases to pay for the service. Areas opting into system at start are the Towns of Duncan and Lake Cowichan, and CVRD Electoral areas A (Mill Bay), C (Cobble Hill), and I (Youbou). with the exception of service to Cowichan District Hospital, buses only pick up and discharge passengers within the participating regions. service is Monday through Saturday daytime, with one bus providing hourly service to the town of Duncan and the hospital, and one bus alternating between Cowichan Lake and South Cowichan trips. Gray Line of Victoria contracted to operate the system; Youbou Connector service contracted to Our Taxi Ltd. of Lake Cowichan.
- September 1996--Cowichan Lake Community Services takes over Youbou Connector contract.
- Late 1990s-- North Cowichan and most Electoral areas opt into the system, allowing for service expansion to North Cowichan, Shawnigan Lake, Mesachie Lake, Honeymoon Bay, and local service on Gibbons, Menzies, and Old Cowichan Lake Roads.
- 1999-2000-- System receives 5 new Dennis Dart buses replacing light duty "cutaway" buses. By 2002 fleet includes the Darts, two 35 foot high floor buses, and two cutaways retained as operating spares.
- 2005 -Parent company Laidlaw sells Gray Line of Victoria's tour and charter operations and assigns the transit contract to its Greyhound division.
- mid 2000s- Main Duncan transit terminus moves from E & N train station on Canada Ave. to Village Green Mall.
- 2006- service to Crofton and Chemainus added.
- 2007- Firstgroup buys Laidlaw including Greyhound Canada
- 2007- Two of the system's Dennis Dart buses destroyed by fire.
- 2008- Cowichan Commuter service introduced,
- c. 2009- Routes 2 and 3 extended to new Cowichan Commons Shopping complex. To facilitate new service within the existing operating budget other services are cut, including cancellation of 1 Gibbins route, 7 Cowichan Lake route is cut back to Lake Cowichan Town Centre (leaving the Youbou connector bus to cover both Youbou and Honeymoon Bay) and trips routing to Mill Bay via Cobble Hill Road are eliminated.
- 2011- 5 Eagle Heights route serving Glenora and Mission reserves introduced as Cowichan Tribes officially becomes an active partner in the system.
- 2012- Ladysmith routes introduced.
- March 9, 2020 - A new dedicated transit operations and maintenance facility opens, replacing property previously leased from maintenance contractor Berk's Intertruck.[1]
- April 1, 2021 - operations of routes 20, 21, and HandyDART service taken over by First Canada.[2]
Routes
Current
- Duncan/North Cowichan routes:
- South Cowichan routes:
- Cowichan Lake area routes:
- Ladysmith routes:
- Cowichan Valley Commuter routes (Interregional routes):
Former
- Duncan Routes
- South Cowichan routes:
- 5 Cobble Hill 1993- late 1990s
- 6 Mill Bay 1993- late 1990s
- 8 Shawnigan Lake late 1990s-2008
- 9 Kerry Park late 1990s-2008
- 10 Cobble Hill late 1990s-2008
- 11 Mill Bay late 1990s-2008
- 12 Shawnigan Lake via Cobble Hill 2008-2009
- 13 Shawnigan Lake via Mill Bay 2008-2009
- 14 Cowichan Bay-Mill Bay via Cobble Hill 2008-2009
- 15 Cowichan Bay-Mill Bay via Arbutus Ridge 2008-2009
- 16 South Cowichan 2008-2009.
- 10 South Cowichan Connector 2009-2015
- 12 Shawnigan Lake 2009-2015
- 15 Mill Bay 2009-2015
- Ladysmith routes:
- 31 Colonia 2013-2016
- 32 Forest Field 2013-2016
- 33 Waterfront 2013-2016
- 34A Coronation Mall 2013-2016
- 34B Westdowne 2013-2016
- 35 Ladysmith-Chemainus 2013-2016
Fares
Facilities
Garage/HQ
- Address: 5271 Boal Rd, Duncan, BC V9L 6W3
- Email: byoung@farwestvic.com
- Phone: 250-746-9899
Active Roster
Conventional
| Fleet number(s) | Thumbnail | Year | Manufacturer | Model | Engine | Transmission | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4017-4022 | 
|
2017 | Grande West | Vicinity 30' | Cummins B6.7 | Voith D864.6 | |
| 4431-4432 | 
|
2017 | Grande West | Vicinity 35' | Cummins B6.7 | Voith D864.6 | |
| 4471-4474 | 
|
2018 | Grande West | Vicinity 35' | Cummins B6.7 | Voith D864.6 | |
| 9290-9291, 9293-9297, 9300 | 
|
2008 | Nova Bus | LFS Suburban | Cummins ISL | Voith D864.5 |
|
Community Bus
| Fleet number(s) | Thumbnail | Year | Manufacturer | Model | Engine | Transmission | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2730-2731, 2748-2750 | 
|
2020 | Chevrolet ARBOC |
4500 SOF 26 |
GMC Vortec 6.0L |
HandyDART
| Fleet number(s) | Thumbnail | Year | Manufacturer | Model | Engine | Transmission | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2671 | 2018 | Chevrolet ARBOC |
4500 SOM 28 |
GMC Vortec 6.0L | |||
| 2718-2722 | 2020 | Chevrolet Girardin |
4500 Micro Bird/G5 |
GMC Vortec 6.0L |
Transferred/Retired Roster
Conventional
Community Buses
| Fleet number(s) | Thumbnail | Year | Manufacturer | Model | Engine | Transmission | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C577 | 1996 | Ford CBB |
E-450 Polar III |
| |||
| C608 | 1991 | International | Arrow III | ||||
| C610, C612-C613 | 1992 | International | Arrow III | ||||
| C705-C707 | 1992 | Ford Overland |
E-450 ELF 125 |
| |||
| C712 | 1996 | Ford Overland |
E-450 ELF 125 |
||||
| C830 | 1998 | Ford | Professional |
| |||
| L97 | 1998 | Ford | B-350 |
| |||
| C983 | 2005 | Ford CBB |
E-450 Polar V |
||||
| 2134 | 2008 | Ford CBB |
E-450 Polar V |
| |||
| 2236 | 2009 | Ford CBB |
E-450 Polar V |
| |||
| 2385-2386, 2393, 2422, 2447 | 
|
2013 | Chevrolet ARBOC |
4500 SOM28D |
GMC Duramax 6.6L |
| |
| 2474, 2551 | 2014 | Chevrolet ARBOC |
4500 SOM28D |
GMC Duramax 6.6L |
|
Paratransit and HandyDART
| Fleet number(s) | Thumbnail | Year | Manufacturer | Model | Engine | Transmission | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C555 | 1996 | Ford CBB |
E-450 Polar III |
| |||
| 2092-2093, 2115 | 
|
2007 | Ford CBB |
E-450 Polar V |
|||
| 2203 | 2009 | Ford CBB |
E-450 Polar V |
||||
| 2379, 2442, 2445 | 2013 | Chevrolet Arboc |
4500 SOM28D |
GMC Duramax 6.6L | |||
| 2508, 2554 | 2014 | Chevrolet Arboc |
4500 SOM28D |
GMC Duramax 6.6L | |||
| 2593 | 2015 | Chevrolet ARBOC |
4500 SOM28D |
GMC Duramax 6.6L |
References
- ↑ New transit operations and maintenance centre opens in Cowichan Valley, BC Transit, published on March 9, 2020.
- ↑ South island operating services contract award, BC Transit, published February 17, 2021.
