Recently I travelled from Vancouver to Duncan to be with my wife, family and her terminally ill father in the Cowichan District Hospital.
I caught the 8:30 a.m. ferry to Departure Bay and had reserved a spot on the Island Link bus to take me to Duncan.
My ferry arrived on time at 10:10 a.m. and I was the first out the door to catch the Island Link bus by 10:20 a.m. Unfortunately the bus left without me; apparently it is scheduled to leave the terminal at 10 a.m.
When one looks at the Island Link schedule, it appears that their southbound buses line up with the Horseshoe Bay/Departure Bay ferry schedule four times a day. In fact, each of the buses leaves 20 minutes before passengers can get to the bus. It is a three-and-a-half-hour wait for the next one.
I don’t understand why Island Link cannot change their schedule to accommodate southbound travellers by leaving 20 minutes later. Do they not want these potential passengers? Why does BC Ferries list Island Link as one of the connections to the ferry, to travel up or down island, when there is actually no connection, at least going south?
My wife had to leave the hospital to pick me up from the terminal. Island Link refused to refund my ticket.
Island Link is a misnomer, as there is no reasonable link that provides service to BC Ferry passengers travelling south. Rather, I would say it’s a missing link!
Greg Green
Vancouver