Tofino Bus company has announced the expansion of its bus service to and on Vancouver Island, commencing on October 1, 2015. The new routes are in addition to their existing service from Victoria to Ucluelet and Tofino. Connections to Vancouver are also included on all new schedules.
Island Express to Tofino and Ucluelet
Tofino Bus Island Express is a locally-owned Vancouver Island bus company offering daily scheduled passenger service as well as charter bus services. Based in beautiful Tofino, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, Tofino Bus Island Express provides daily transportation to Tofino, Ucluelet and Port Alberni from Parksville, Nanaimo, Victoria and Vancouver. Passengers can access all the major points from Victoria to Tofino via the Tofino Highway 4. With daily departures, Tofino Bus Island Express makes visiting the scenic west coast of Vancouver Island easy, comfortable and convenient.
Tofino Bus manages the Port Alberni bus depot, offering direct express service to Tofino, Ucluelet, Nanaimo (both to the Nanaimo Bus Depot and the Departure Bay ferry terminal), and downtown Victoria. For additional information, call toll free 1-866-986-3466 in Tofino, or 250-724-1266 in Port Alberni.
All Island Express to North Vancouver Island
Tofino Bus All Island Express new North Island schedule provides three daily buses between Victoria, Nanaimo, Parksville, Buckley Bay, Courtenay, Campbell River, Port McNeill and Port Hardy. If you are travelling from Tofino, Ucluelet or Port Alberni northwards towards Port Hardy, they make a connection in Parksville for buses traveling to North Vancouver Island.
Travel to and from Vancouver
If you’re traveling to Vancouver and other mainland destinations from Tofino, Ucluelet or Port Alberni, Tofino Bus makes a daily direct connection to Greyhound buses in Nanaimo. If you’re heading to the island from Vancouver and the mainland, Tofino Bus provides service from Departure Bay Ferry Terminal in Nanaimo and the Nanaimo Bus Depot, the loading point for Vancouver Greyhound passengers to Port Alberni, Ucluelet and Tofino. The ferry service to Departure Bay Ferry Terminal is from the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal in West Vancouver. The new service out of Vancouver starts on October 15th at Pacific Central Station.
Greyhound
Tofino Bus is taking over routes previously operated by Greyhound Canada. As an interline partner with Greyhound, all Tofino Bus Island Express schedules connect with the Greyhound North-America-wide network. They will operate from the same bus stations as Greyhound, and they accept Greyhound tickets and freight.
Buses
Tofino Bus has a fleet of 21 buses serving their routes. Their motor coaches carry 48 passengers, minibuses carry 30 people and the company also operates smaller van-type buses.
Contact Tofino Bus Services Inc.
Head Office: 346 Campbell Street, Tofino, BC V0R 2Z0
Phone: 250-725-2871
Website: www.tofinobus.com
Email: info@tofinobus.com
Photo Credit: David Stanley
If anyone knows my brother JONATHON BUYS who had a him-built cabin approximately 3miles in and upland from the cove. I believe the cove or a cove off what he called CAT FACE MOUNTAIN. Dynamite cove?
Does anyone that has lived in and around Tofino recognize my brothers name please contact me his youngest sister Hilary Buys @ 503-508-2526 text capable as well as media net. Please contact me regardless of whether you knew him, heard of or and remember him and Miriam his wife when they lived out on the mountain
I’ve found buses to be more comfortable than planes (comfier seats, more legroom, better recline and sometimes even free wifi).
I would use this service often to visit friends and family up island, most likely during weekends. This would be an excellent connection to have, because of the currently long layovers in Parksville! I know many other people who need transportation to and from these destinations who are unable to travel via bus at this time. This would allow them to do so. This needs to happen!
I would NOT recommend using Tofino Bus. This past weekend my mother was supposed to be picked up from the Nanaimo airport and brought to Courtney. We called to make a reservation via phone and were advised that they would pick her up. The bus did not show up for her causing her to have to spend the night in Nanaimo at her own expense. I called Tofino Bus in the morning to follow up on what happened and they advised that they did not have a reservation for her. We were given misinformation from whomever we spoke with on the weekend. When speaking with a supervisor from the company he basically said “Sorry about your luck” and that whomever told us we had a reservation didn’t give us the correct information. WORSE customer service I have ever dealt with and would not recommend dealing with them.
Don’t recommend this service either. Last week we booked a reservation online for our son to travel from Langford to Courtenay, for last night. Had the confirmation, arrived at the appointed time and watched the bus drive by on the highway 20 minutes before it was supposed to take the exit and stop at the BC Transit stop on McCallum Road. Since it was our first time using the service, we gave them the benefit of the doubt, thinking they had to do something and would come back down from Leigh road at the correct time. When it didn’t arrive, we called and they said there was no reservation, until I read my confirmation number. Then they put me on hold twice, trying to reach the driver. When they couldn’t get him to answer, they said that it would be too late for him to turn around anyway. (we were not the only family waiting to send someone up to Courtenay at that stop). Then the rep said they would happily re-book us for the next day at no charge. The next day we went to the stop and called to confirm that we were in the right location,etc and a different rep tried to tell me they didn’t even make that trip that time of day (the night before). When I informed her that their website indicated a Friday night and a Sunday night trip, she changed her story to there was no reservation made, which I refuted with my confirmation number and finally she said the driver told her no one was at the stop. Not sure how he knew, because 1. he was really early and 2. you can’t see the stop from the highway until you are on top of it, due to the landscaping at the exit ramp. When I was finally able to talk to William, the apparent manager, later in the day, I was shocked at how little he cared. He told me the same story that I had heard, even though I could back up with confirmation numbers the reservation. He said we were offered a full refund, (not very helpful when one needs to get from point A to point B and has paid for the service), when in fact we hadn’t been. Then he said we got where we needed to be, so there was no reason for compensation. Even though we had to make multiple trips to the drop off location and contact and make changes for the pickup in Courtenay, 15 hours later, I’m glad we weren’t stuck with hotel costs or had anyone lose a day’s pay due to this unreliable service. The apathy with regards to the situation and the total lack of ownership for the problems incurred where beyond belief. Find any other means to get up Island, before you choose this company!!
Love Tofino Bus and sorry to hear of the bad luck. There are a few shitty drivers in the world, but not too bad at Tofino Bus. Greyhound can please hurry of the island! Worst customer service in the history of business, omg.