Replacing the bus depot on Douglas Street with a development more in keeping with the character of downtown Victoria is a good move, but let鈥檚 ensure it doesn鈥檛 eliminate or diminish a necessary service.
As Nat Bosa, owner of the Empress Hotel, announced plans last week to do $30 million worth of renovations to the hotel, he also said notice has been given to Pacific Coach Lines to vacate the bus depot, which is part of Empress property. He wants to build a high-end rental property on the site that will complement the hotel and the rest of the downtown area.
鈥淭he very first time I saw [the bus depot], I said: 鈥楾hat doesn鈥檛 belong here. That doesn鈥檛 do anything for this hotel,鈥� 鈥� Bosa said.
The depot is indeed a drab piece of architecture, one that stands out in bleak contrast to more noteworthy structures nearby, including the Empress, the legislature buildings, the Crystal Garden and the Royal sa国际传媒 Museum. It鈥檚 a humble onion in the middle of an elegant rose garden.
Like the similarly bleak Belleville Street ferry terminal a few blocks away, the bus depot does not present a good first impression to travellers alighting in Victoria. Unlike the ferry terminal (identified by Islanders as a top priority for upgrading), the bus depot can continue to provide service from a different location.
The depot is used by PCL, Wilson鈥檚 Transportation, which operates Gray Line Sightseeing tour buses and an airport service, and Greyhound, whose buses travel as far north as Port Hardy.
Relocating likely comes at an awkward time for PCL, which recently announced it was cutting back on its service from downtown Victoria to downtown Vancouver.
The company felt the impact when public transit services on the Island and the mainland increased service between the downtown areas and the ferry terminals. This past weekend, the bus line began offering three cross-water trips a day, down from five. It will increase service during holidays and the summer as demand dictates.
It鈥檚 still an important service, and one that should be encouraged. All modes of mass transit are more economical and environmentally friendly than private cars. Bus service is important for people who don鈥檛 own cars, and it offers another choice for those who do.
While relocating is always a pain, in this case, it can also be an opportunity. Moving the buses away from the lower end of Douglas Street would help ease congestion in that area. A new location farther north on Douglas, somewhere between the downtown core and Hillside Avenue, would still be close enough to the downtown core to be convenient, and for the large buses, would be more convenient than negotiating the downtown traffic. It would also be less of a hassle for people dropping off and picking up bus passengers.
The new depot should be close to good connections to other transit services 鈥� the current location isn鈥檛 the best in that respect.
It鈥檚 not necessary to build an extravagant facility. It would require enough space to park buses and cars to bring and fetch passengers. It should have a ticketing area and a place to pick up parcels; waiting passengers should have shelter from the sun, rain and wind. It doesn鈥檛 need to be luxurious to be clean, bright and welcoming.
Victoria mayor-elect Lisa Helps said she would like to work with the transportation industry to find a new site for the bus depot. It鈥檚 a worthwhile effort 鈥� at a time when we are trying to get more people out of their cars and into mass transit, we should ensure there are no undue roadblocks for inter-city bus services.
