The Regional District of Nanaimo is looking to launch a new connector service between the harbour city and the Cowichan region by spring 2022. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

INTER-CITY connector

Fares set but schedule remains unknown for Nanaimo-Duncan transit link

Oct 13, 2021 | 5:25 AM

NANAIMO — Transit riders now know how much a ride from Nanaimo to the Cowichan Valley will cost, but when buses will leave and from where remains a mystery.

A one-way cash fare of $7.50 will get riders from Nanaimo to a Duncan transit hub, however work continues to define the exact route and number of stops connecting the Regional District of Nanaimo with their Cowichan Valley counterparts.

Tyler Brown, RDN board chair, told NanaimoNewsNOW one bus will provide 2,500 hours of year-round service between the two transit networks.

“We’ve heard this is a connection people want, we’ll give it a try here and see how it goes. But in order to make it a success we have to build upon it, make sure the individual systems are functioning really well and provide a viable service to get people to where they want to go.”

Bulk tickets along with monthly passes for just the connector or access to both the RDN and Cowichan Valley Regional District network will also be available.

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The budget to run the service will be in place come January 2022, however buses aren’t expected to start rolling until the spring.

Specific decisions related to how frequent the service runs and where exactly it travels are still to be determined.

Brown suggested the bus will leave Nanaimo from the downtown exchange, but said there had been discussions about starting the route from VIU.

Total cost for the additional hours is $200,000, split evenly between the RDN and CVRD. Projected revenues, again to be split, range from $111,600 to $145,400

The connection to the Cowichan Valley opens up the possibility of a transit link between the mid-Island and Victoria.

“The [Cowichan Valley Regional District] does have a system that runs down to Victoria, so while this is a much needed service when you piecemeal it together you get a Frankenstein approach. It’s what we’re able to do…with all these different operators, different regions running their own transit.”

The route linking Nanaimo and the Cowichan Valley will not include a detour to Duke Point ferry terminal, with Brown citing available transit hours in the budget.

The connection was briefly in place during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic when BC Ferries shuttered Departure Bay.

A link to Nanaimo Airport began in early 2020 with multiple trips per day on a route from the downtown Nanaimo exchange.

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