Bus service extending to Hullo ferry terminal

The 25 Ferry Shuttle bus will be extending its route to the Nanaimo Port Authority three times a day starting on Sunday Jan. 7. Photo: Mick Sweetman / CHLY 101.7FM

Passengers looking for a ride to the Hullo Ferries and Helijet terminals in the Nanaimo Port Authority will have a public transit option starting on Sunday, January 7.

BC Transit’s #25 Ferry Shuttle will be extending its service to the port three times a day, at 10:35 a.m., 3:17 p.m. and 6:59 p.m.

Hullo Ferry’s CEO Alastair Caddick says that the extension of the new route will make it easier for people to get to the terminal.

“To have the route 25 bus, coming to the Hello terminal is another step making it easier for travelers,” he said.

Darren Marshall, Senior Manager, Transportation Services at the Regional District of Nanaimo, says the RDN is excited about extending bus service to the Port Authority.

“This new service encourages new riders to help make transit a great alternative or primary safe affordable travel option,” he said.

Marshall says it was a challenge trying to juggle the schedule to serve the BC Ferries terminals at Departure Bay and Nanaimo Harbour as well as Hullo at the Port Authority and the #70 Cowichan Express bus.

“It's very difficult to meet the timings of three different services that are running at different frequencies at different times. But we're able to come up with a good combination, BC ferries didn't lose any service and on the 25 and Hullo was able to meet their system three times a day.”

The new route does mean that the bus will no longer be serving Vancouver Island University and to help keep the buses running on time they will no longer wait for delayed ferries.

Caddick says Hullo runs a complimentary shuttle bus from its terminal to downtown Nanaimo and BC Transit’s new route will help connect people throughout the city as the fast ferry becomes a more popular option.

“We've now surpassed 100,000 guests coming to our service and we're really looking forward to 2024,” he said.

Maps and schedules for #25 Ferry Shuttle can be seen at rdn.bc.ca. 

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.