Investing in public transit infrastructure supports economic growth, helps reduce air pollution, and creates connected inclusive communities.
Today, the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, and the Honourable Claire Trevena, B.C. Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, announced joint funding for a new handyDART operations and maintenance facility in View Royal.
The handyDART bus service provides accessible, door-to-door, shared transit for riders with reduced mobility, handling more than 390 thousand trips annually throughout Greater Victoria.
Once complete, this project will strengthen transit services for people with disabilities, helping ensure that all residents have access to the opportunities and services they need. It will also allow BC Transit to accommodate the expected increase in demand as Greater Victoria expands.
The new facility will accommodate approximately 110 handyDART buses, which is double the current fleet size. It will be the first Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) Gold standard BC Transit facility in British Columbia. LEED standards outline site requirements that employ best management practices to reduce chemical use, energy waste, water waste, air pollution, solid waste, and/or runoff associate with the building and site.
The BC Transit’s existing handyDART facility located on Glanford Ave will be converted into a third operations and maintenance centre for BC Transit’s conventional fleet, allowing for more buses and more transit service of all types in Greater Victoria.
The Government of Canada is investing more than $12.6 million for this project through the Public Transit Infrastructure stream of the Investing in Canada plan. The Government of British Columbia is contributing more than $12.9 million and the Victoria Regional Transit Commission is contributing $6.9 million.