Victoria airport shuttle service suspended due to low ridership
The Wilson’s Group has suspended the only shuttle bus service to Victoria International Airport indefinitely.
The company says it was forced to make the move after demand for the service dropped due to the ongoing pandemic.
The number of people requiring the shuttle to the airport was less than half of the number needed for the service to operate at the “break-even” mark, the company said.
“The ridership just isn’t there right now to make it a viable service,” said brand manager Samatha Wilson. “In an industry that was one of the hardest hit during the pandemic, we just simply can’t continue to run services that aren’t viable and the numbers just aren’t there to cover the costs of running it.”
The service had been shelved at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Wilson’s had relaunched the service in August 2020 as travel restrictions started to ease and more people were choosing to travel by air.
In an effort to maintain the service and reduce operating costs, the company modified its schedule from pre-pandemic levels. It reduced trips to the airport from its Capital City station in downtown Victoria to once every 90 minutes from the pre-pandemic schedule of a trip every 30 minutes.
It also eliminated scheduled pick-up and drop-off service at Victoria hotels to reservation only.
“With restarting the service we needed to change it a little bit due to making the service work the best we could,” said Wilson. “It ran from 4 a.m. to 12 p.m. so for a large chunk of the day it was operating.”
The Victoria Airport Authority says Wilson’s remains a valued partner of the airport.
“We are working with them in terms of providing traveller-number forecasts so that when numbers return to a sufficient level, they will be able to resume scheduled service to/from the airport,” said the VAA in an email.
Wilson says the company is working with its travel and hospitality partners, such as Destination Greater Victoria and VAA, during the winter months.
She says the Wilson’s Group will monitor the numbers of passengers travelling through the airport, with the goal of bringing back the shuttle service in the spring or summer 2022.
“We certainly want to see what we can do to make it work because it’s an important service for the airport, but we can’t make it work right now,” said Wilson. “We all have to make smart business decisions coming out of this pandemic and unfortunately this is one of those decisions we had to make, but we’re hopeful we can bring the service back in the spring or summer.”
Wilson says the suspension of the airport service did not result in any job losses for the drivers who operated the shuttle buses. She says staff we moved to jobs in other divisions of the company.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NDP calls out Conservatives for effort to quash pharmacare legislation
The federal New Democrats are calling out Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his party for trying to block the bill that could pave the way for millions of Canadians to access birth control and diabetes coverage.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
DEVELOPING Hamas accepts Gaza ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar
Hamas said it has accepted a ceasefire deal proposed by Egypt and Qatar which seeks to halt the seven-month war with Israel in Gaza.
Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
For the first time, researchers have identified a genetic form of late-in-life Alzheimer's disease
For the first time, researchers have identified a genetic form of late-in-life Alzheimer’s disease — in people who inherit two copies of a worrisome gene.
B.C. court date set for 3 accused of murdering Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three suspects accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year are scheduled to appear in court in Surrey on Tuesday.
Ontario MPP asked again to leave Ontario legislature over keffiyeh, Speaker loosens ban
An Ontario MPP was asked again to leave the Ontario legislature on Monday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that was banned by the Speaker last month due to its political symbolism.