Wilson’s Transportation to take over ferry bus service

After 55 years of ferrying bus passengers between Victoria and Vancouver, Pacific Coach Lines is handing the wheel over to Victoria-based Wilson’s Transportation in the new year.

Wilson’s, a three-generation family company founded in 1962, was chosen over PCL to operate the service, Ferries spokesman Darin Guenette said.

PCL and Wilson’s are working together on the transition, with the new company set to take over on Jan. 1, Guenette said.

The contract to provide the service, which includes assured loading, expired last month, he said. The decision means Victoria PCL drivers will be out of a job, “unless they wish to move to Vancouver,” said one driver who asked not to be named. “As we are a union company, there is severance language in place to look after some staff.

“The company has operated this service for over 50 years and it is a sad time for all of us.”

A PCL official said last year that passenger numbers at offpeak times had dropped by 50 per cent between 2010 and 2014 due to increased and faster B.C. Transit and TransLink services between the city centres and the Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen ferry terminals. One-way B.C. resident adult fare from downtown Victoria to downtown Vancouver on PCL is about $50, compared to about half that using public transit, including walk-on ferry fare.

PCL won permission last year to reduce its service on the Victoria-Vancouver route between late November and mid-December. It cut back trips to three from five per day.

That followed a Passenger Transportation Board ruling that approved PCL’s bid to decrease its crosswater service during slower times. Daily trips increase in busy times, such as summer and during winter holidays.

B.C. Ferries issued a request for proposals for the bus service in May. Criteria used to evaluate proposals included the proposed revenue model, meaning how much money B.C. Ferries would receive from the private-sector company, Guenette said.

The flexibility of a company’s bus fleet in handling fluctuating demand was also taken into account. “They have to be able to respond and be flexible with the size of bus they are bringing on the ferry,” Guenette said.

Details of the contract were not immediately available.