The Martlet

Late-night bus service is back on weekends, but students will need to use the service to ensure it sticks around.

Late-night service will see routes 4, 6 and 14 run until just after

1:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. To ensure the hard-won service is well used, the UVic Students’ Society (UVSS) is running an awareness campaign.

“We’ve lobbied for 10 years to get it and if it’s not being utilized then it won’t be kept around,” said UVSS Chairperson James Coccola. “We really need to push it and make sure students know it’s there and are using the service.”

The UVSS Political Action Committee is running the awareness campaign, which includes postering, tabling, advertising, a Facebook group, and an event at the UVic bus loop on Tuesday, Sept. 14th.

“If students want to get involved in the Political Action Committee … we would love to have the help,” said Coccola.

The Victoria Regional Transit Commission (VRTC) – which sets bus routes, fares and schedules in Greater Victoria – voted in June to bring back late-night bus service after a three month trial run. B.C. Transit executives had recommended against resuming the service, citing the cost. But VRTC members voted to bring it back with temporary contingency funding. The VRTC will review the service next year and decide whether or not to keep it, and possibly expand it.

Coccola encourages UVic students to contact the VRTC to express their support for late-night service.

“Letting the Transit Commission know that this is a service that [students] appreciate and that [we] are going to use would go a long way in helping us in the future in any other talks we have,” he said.

Coccola would ultimately like to see late-night service on more routes, and have them run until 3 a.m.

“My hopes are that the service gets utilized very well, and then the mayors who sit on the [VRTC] will realize it’s something they need to expand to more routes, and to make it later,” he said. “Once we can show that there’s demand for it, we can start pushing for real late-night transit.”

The Camosun College Student Society (CCSS) is also running a late-night transit awareness campaign.

“The theme is ‘Use It or Lose It’,” said CCSS External Affairs Executive Matteus Clement.

B.C. Transit will also be heavily marketing the late-night service with print, radio and web advertisements, and is working with UVic, Camosun College and the Downtown Victoria Business Association to raise awareness of the service among students and employees of downtown businesses, said B.C. Transit spokesperson Joanna Morton.

“We want to see it really busy,” said Christopher Causton, VRTC chair and Mayor of Oak Bay. “There’s no excuse now that people won’t know that this service is in existence.”

“I’m hoping that this really takes off this time,” he said.

To contact VRTC chair Christopher Causton about late-night transit, e-mail mayor@oakbaybc.org.

To get involved with the UVSS Political Action Committee, e-mail chair@uvss.ca or drop by the UVSS Resource Centre in the Student Union Building.

For full bus schedules, pick up a Rider’s Guide on the bus or visit the Victorial Regional Tranit System’s website at bctransit.com/regions/vic.