IslandLinkBus has cancelled their service from Tofino and Ucluelet to Port Alberni.
In a rather confusing string of emails, Islandlink says passengers riding between Tofino and Ucluelet must first go to Nanaimo’s Departure Bay Terminal, even though the bus stops in Port Alberni in front of the Casino en route to Nanaimo.
A one-way ticket from Ucluelet Junction (the pick-up spot is Ukee Poke) to Departure Bay is $75. The cost for a bus ticket from Tofino to Departure Bay is $85. It’s $45 for a ticket from Departure Bay to Port Alberni.
“This is all necessary to fine tune our operations and costs of operations, we are not subsidized in any fashion,” said Lisa Brisco, IslandLinkBus operations manager.
“Passengers from Tofino and Ucluelet wanting to go to Port Alberni must first go to Nanaimo and then return to Port Alberni. We do understand there are added costs incurred, but that is the only way with our license,” she continued. “To make that stop would be operating contrary to our license. That in turn will risk our jobs and the services we offer on the island, so we do as we are licensed to do.”
“IslandLink has a 'connector' license where Greyhound/Tofino Bus had an 'inter-city' license,” Brisco explained. “Our one and only destination is Departure Bay in Nanaimo and our service connects with the BC Ferry service in Nanaimo.”
IslandLink also told the Ha-Shilth-Sa that they cancelled the Tofino/Ucluelet to Port Alberni service “as the numbers to and from the coast were not enough to keep that route at this time.” The company said to “check with BC Transit”.
BC Transit confirmed in an email that “there has been no formal exploration of service between the West Coast and Port Alberni”.
Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Administrator Iris Frank is deeply troubled by the reduction of bus service.
“We on the West Coast have an urgent need for reliable transportation,” said Frank.
“This service is not a luxury. It is a need. Tla-o-qui-aht members, along with members from Ahousaht and Hesquiaht, depend on this transportation to access medical care that is not available in our home communities. These trips also allow our people to take care of vital needs—groceries, prescriptions, financial services, and family obligations—often all in one trip,” Frank continued.
“Without a consistent and affordable bus service, many will face impossible choices. The absence of this essential connection will create additional financial hardship for our people. This is not just about transportation. This is about equity and fairness. We must not allow our communities to be left behind,” she said.
IslandLinkBus has a trip leaving every morning from Port Alberni to Nanaimo’s Departure Bay Ferry Terminal at 8:40 a.m. The cost is $45, one-way. Then IslandLink picks up passengers at 10:40 a.m. in Nanaimo for a trip to Tofino and the Ucluelet Junction.
IslandLink collects passengers in Tofino at two stops (House of Himwitsa or Cox Bay Visitor Centre) and then Ukee Poke (2201 Pacific Rim Hwy) at 3 p.m. before heading eastbound to Port Alberni. The bus stops in Port Alberni at 4:30 p.m. to pick-up passengers headed to Nanaimo.
An IslandLink bus driver re-iterated that if he lets passengers off the bus in Port Alberni, they could lose their license.
The final trip of the day is a 6:10 p.m. service from Nanaimo, Departure Bay Ferry Terminal to Port Alberni, 3800 Block Maple Way, opposite the Casino.
“Our service originates and ends in Port Alberni daily, we employ three Port Alberni residents and have maintenance services and fuel purchases in Port as well,” said Brisco.
Elloise Hoey, 29, was waiting for the IslandLinkBus service from the Ucluelet Junction to Nanaimo on June 16. She missed the 3 p.m. bus and is out $75 because she was waiting at the Junction Visitor Centre instead of Ukee Poke where the bus collects passengers for its eastbound trip – an honest mistake coming from a U.K. traveller on a work visa.
Gutted having missed her bus, Hoey was unsure as to how she was going to get to Nanaimo for a flight the next day. Hitchhiking was not an option in her mind, but she did have a family member in Lake Cowichan that she could call on to do the roughly four-hour drive to collect her.
Frank called on all levels of government to recognize the urgent need for sustainable transportation solutions that “respect the realities of life in remote Indigenous communities.”
“This is a moment to rally together, to raise our voices, and to insist that no one should be denied access to basic services simply because of where they live,” said Frank.
MLA Josie Osborne reminded West Coasters that both Island Health and the First Nations Health Authority helps with travel for medical appointments.
“I encourage any constituent with questions about these programs to reach out to my office,” said Osborne in an email.
“Establishing a new inter-regional service between the West Coast and Port Alberni will require a strong partnership between the local governments, First Nations and B.C. Transit, especially knowing that most new routes and service expansions are initiated by local governments. As the local MLA, I will do everything I can to support communities and local voices in this important work to improve transportation access for people,” she continued.
Osborne noted that West Coast communities, local governments, and First Nations worked hard to establish a new public transit service on the Pacific Rim, the first new route added to BC Transit in eight years.
“We now have reliable, safe and affordable options for people to travel between Tofino, Ucluelet and Hitacu, and this is a massive accomplishment for our communities,” said Osborne.
Visit the IslandLink at www.IslandLinkBus.com for more information on rates and booking queries.
