Tag Archives: Bus service

Transportation

West Coast bus service connecting Tofino and Ucluelet set to expand in January

By Nora O’Malley, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

West Coast, BC – The public bus service connecting Tofino and Ucluelet is expanding in the new year.

Starting Jan. 4, 2026, West Coast Transit riders will benefit from more frequent midday trips and a late-night service will also be reintroduced, with buses departing Ucluelet at 9:20 p.m. and Tofino at 10:25 p.m. 

Operated by BC Transit and the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District (ACRD), the West Coast Transit System has stops in Tofino, Ucluelet, Long Beach, the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ community of hitaću, and the Tla-o-qui-aht communities of Esowista and Ty-histanis.

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Transportation

What the Cortes/Quadra Passenger Transportation Survey Discovered

282 people from Cortes, Quadra and the Outer Island’s as well as some visitors participated in CCEDA’s passenger transportation survey.  They were asked about a variety of options for passengers in the islands, a bus, taxi, carpool, van pool, or rideshare.

“We found that the most popular option for all respondents was a bus on Quadra that included both ferries. Cortes and Outer-Island residents only need a bus that goes from the Cortes Ferry to the Quadra Ferry.  They don’t necessarily need to go anywhere else on Quadra. It’s just  that straight line that so many people take across Quadra. On Quadra, the most popular option was a bus that included both ferries, but also made a loop. It would be helpful for people living on Quadra and visitors to get around Quadra,” explained Jennifer Banks-Doll, Project Lead for Quadra Island.

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Transportation

The Transportation Solutions Project for Cortes, Quadra and some Outer Islands

A new passenger transportation solutions project was launched for Cortes, Quadra and some of the Outer Islands. Kate Maddigan, of the Cortes Community Economic Development Association (CCEDA), obtained a grant to fund the project and will oversee developments on Cortes. Quadra Island facilitator Jennifer Banks-Doll will be overseeing the project on Quadra and the Outer Islands. Their first step is fact gathering but unlike past initiatives, they intend to implement some of these ideas. A survey being launched this Monday, May 13, and an online forum on May 21. 

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Education, History

Memories of the old Whaletown Schoolhouse

After more than a decade of service, the Oyster Bay schoolhouse was barged over to Whaletown in 1950. There it opened its doors to the children of a new community.

Brigid Weiler started attending the Whaletown School in 1959. 

Her earliest memories are in that area.

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Politics, Transportation

B.C. rolls out rural transportation surveys but the roadmap for action is unclear

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

B.C. is examining long-standing roadblocks to intercity transportation for rural communities on Vancouver Island and other underserved areas in the province.

The province is spending $2.5 million on in-person and virtual community consultations and online surveys to study passenger transportation gaps faced by rural and remote areas on Vancouver Island and parts of the coastal mainland, as well as B.C.’s north and southern Interior. 

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