🚗 Transportation
Victoria is fairly flat for a West Coast city, and known for being pedestrian friendly. How to get around Victoria, BC, from driving, ferries, buses to bicycles.
Here’s how to get or to transfer your 🚙 drivers license when moving to BC.
How much is bus fare in Victoria?
Adults: $2.50/single ride; $85/monthly pass.
Children (13 - 18 years): $2.50/single ride; $45/monthly pass.
Children (6 - 12 years): Free
Seniors (65 years & older): $2.50/single ride; $45/monthly pass.
Source: BC Transit Fares - Victoria
Where to buy bus tickets in Victoria?
Buses only accept cash or a paper ticket or a monthly pass. They don’t take credit cards, debit cards or mobile pay.
You can’t buy a bus ticket or pass online. There are 4 ways to ride a bus: monthly pass (looks like a library card that you swipe), 10 ticket pack, “Day Pass” ($5, pay the bus driver cash), or cash for 1 bus ride.
Buy the monthly bus pass or 10 bus ticket packs at: Thrifty Foods, London Drugs, Shoppers Drugs, Fairway Market, Pharmasave, 7-11, Save On Foods.
Most other grocery stores, gas stations and pharmacies sell them. Check the official list of stores from BC Transit here: https://bctransit.com/victoria/fares/where-to-buy
I’m a college student. Do I get a bus pass?
Usually, yes you will. It’s up to your university or college to have a program for the “U-PASS” bus pass with BC Transit. Click the link for your school, or, ask your college.
Camosun College: camosun.ca/about/our-campuses/transportation-and-parking/public-transit
Royal Roads University: royalroads.ca/current-students/u-pass
University of Victoria (UVIC): uvss.ca/u-pass
🚗 Driving & Parking
Parking downtown: Downton Victoria has parkades (parking garages) operated by the City of Victoria that are free for the first hour, then $2-$4/hour, up to $16 for an entire day. They’re also free from 6pm to 9am, every day. Unlike other cities, these are open 24 hours a day. Other private parking garages charge more.
NOTE: The public parking garages (“parkades”) only take credit cards or cash, no debit cards.
Parking by your house: Some neighbourhoods have controlled, permitted street parking. If your street requires permits to park there, go to City Hall with your rental contract/lease, and give them your license plate number to be registered. You can also do this online! This is free to get registered. If your car is towed here, it’ll cost you anywhere from $200-$400 to get your car back.
💻 Here’s the City of Victoria on-street parking registration website: www.victoria.ca/EN/main/residents/parking/on-street.html
Street Parking: Our street parking meters take credit cards or coins. They’re $1.50 to $3 an hour, with a limit from 1.5 hours to 24 hours depending on where you’re parking in the city.
One Way Streets ➡️: There’s a ton of them, all over the city. They don’t make sense. Be prepared and look twice.
🚲 Cycling
In Victoria: Be prepared to share the road with cars, and be assertive to maintain your safety. Victoria is fairly flat with very few hills, and a great city to explore by bike. Make sure to have a headlight on your bike — it’s rainy and dark here in the evenings, which makes cyclists invisible to cars.
Do I need a lock? Absolutely. Lock. Your. Bike. Or you won’t have a bike anymore.
Can I register my bike with the police? You can - that way if it’s stolen or if someone tries to sell your bike, you can prove it’s yours. Register using the app the Victoria Police now use, “529 Garage”: project529.com/garage
Do the police have a section on biking in Victoria? Yes, at https://vicpd.ca/crime-prevention/protect-your-bike/
Galloping Goose Trail: What? Yes, it’s a funny name, but an amazing commuter trail for bicyclists from the West Shore (Colwood, Langford, Metchosin) to bike into Victoria. It runs 60km from Sooke to Victoria.
🚲 Electric Bikes
Defined as “motor-assisted” bicycles by ICBC (the province’s vehicle licencing and insurance body). It must use electric power (not a gasoline motor), max 500 watts, and have bicycle-style pedals to qualify.
Insurance: not required
Driver’s Licence: not required
ICBC guide to electric bike rules: icbc.com/vehicle-registration/specialty-vehicles/Low-powered-vehicles/Pages/Electric-bikes.aspx
🛵 Scooters, Mopeds, Vespas
Defined as “low-powered motorcycle” by ICBC (the province’s vehicle licencing and insurance body). It has a gasoline engine or electric power under 1,500 watts. It has a max speed of 70 km/hour.
Insurance: required
Driver’s Licence: required
ICBC guide to scooter rules: icbc.com/vehicle-registration/specialty-vehicles/Low-powered-vehicles/Pages/Electric-bikes.aspx
⛴️ Ferry to Victoria: BC Ferries
The most popular ferry, run by BC Ferries, to go to Vancouver (Tsawwassen terminal), Salt Spring Island, Pender Island and a few other places from Victoria. To get to the “Victoria” terminal is about a 45 minute drive from downtown Victoria — it’s in Swartz Bay.
How often: Sailings every two hours, from 7:00am - 9:00pm.
Price*: A car & driver costs $74.70 CAD/one way, for a small car. A truck or van is more. A passenger fare (walking on) is $17.20 CAD/one way.
Time: It’s 1.5 hours on the ferry to Vancouver.
*Current prices on the BC Ferries website: bcferries.com/routes-fares/ferry-fares
⛴️ Ferry to Victoria: Washington State Ferry
This ferry goes from Victoria to Anacortes, Washington, USA. This leaves from Sidney, about a 35 minute drive from downtown Victoria.
How often: One sailing per day.
Price*: A car & driver costs $73 CAD/one way, for a small car. A truck or van is more. A passenger fare (walking on) is $21.77 CAD/one way.
Time: It’s 2 hours 45 minutes on the ferry to Anacortes, WA.
You must bring your passport to take this ferry, as it goes to the US. You have to make a reservation to bring your car on this ferry.
*Current prices on the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) website: wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/fares
⛴️ Ferry to Victoria: Blackball Ferry — also called the “Coho”
This ferry goes from Victoria to Port Angeles, WA. If you want to continue to Seattle, it’s about a 1 hour drive to ANOTHER ferry, which you’ll need to cross over the water to the “mainland” and then drive to Seattle.
How often: Two sailings per day.
Price*: A car & driver costs $86.25 CAD/one way, for a small car. A truck or van is more. A passenger fare (walking on) is $26.10 CAD/one way.
Time: It’s 1.5 hours on the ferry to Port Angeles, WA.
You must bring your passport to take this ferry, as it goes to the US.
*Current prices on the Blackball Ferry (called the Coho) website: cohoferry.com/Fares
🚕 Taxis
Uber and Lyft: Not available in Victoria
Taxis: It can take a long time to come. Call for a taxi 30 minutes before you plan to leave, to make sure you’ll have one. On holidays taxis are nearly impossible to get unless you schedule one beforehand (which a lot of us do for New Year’s Eve and Canada Day).
Most people in Victoria use Blue Bird Cabs (💙 blue cars), Yellow Cab (💛 yellow cars) or Victoria Taxi (💚 green cars).
🚙 Car Sharing
Modo: A cooperative car-sharing company. You pay a membership fee, and they take care of the car insurance and maintenance. Cheaper than renting a car if you do it a few times a month or so. The price can be $4/hour for a car or $52/day for a car, and then other plans have other prices. Yes, you do need to have a valid driver’s ’s licence. modo.coop
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