Bus lanes between the McKenzie and Colwood interchanges are due in late fall 2027. Double-decker buses are arriving now. A train from Langford to Vic West is only being studied. Here is what each one changes, and where West Shore commuters actually go.
Every weekday morning, thousands of West Shore drivers head east toward Victoria and Saanich. The worst of it collects on one stretch: the Trans-Canada Highway between the Colwood and McKenzie interchanges. That is where the Colwood Crawl lives. The Province's own project page calls that section "prone to traffic congestion."
The pressure behind it is growth. Langford had 46,584 residents in the 2021 census, up 31.8 per cent in five years. The city now works from a BC Stats figure of 58,320 for 2024. Colwood had 18,961 in 2021.
Three fixes are in motion. They move at very different speeds, and only one of them has a date.
The short answer
| Fix | What it is | Where it stands, November 2026 | Finish date |
|---|
| Highway 1 bus lanes | Bus-only lanes on both shoulders, McKenzie to Colwood | Under construction since March 20, 2025 | Late fall 2027, per the Province |
| Double-decker buses | 39 for the regional fleet, with the 95 named as a busy route they will help | First two in service March 2026 | Rolling out |
| Rail, Langford to Vic West | A feasibility study on the old E&N line | Funded in September 2026 | None. Nobody has decided to build it |
None of the three adds a lane for cars.
Where West Shore workers actually go
The Crawl looks like a downtown problem. The census says it is only partly one.
In May 2021, 27,980 people in Langford, Colwood, View Royal, Metchosin and the Highlands had a usual place of work. Only 5,810 of them, about one in five, worked in the City of Victoria. Almost half, 12,865, worked on the West Shore itself. Langford's biggest single destination was Langford.
| Where they worked, 2021 | Workers from the five West Shore municipalities |
|---|
| On the West Shore | 12,865 (46%) |
| City of Victoria | 5,810 (21%) |
| Saanich | 4,255 (15%) |
| Esquimalt | 2,180 (8%) |
The totals are our sums of Statistics Canada's figures for each municipality. Workers who went elsewhere make up the rest.
Most of them drove. Of Langford's 20,030 commuters, 15,635 drove themselves and 1,030 took transit. The average one-way trip was 21.7 minutes from Langford, 22.2 from Colwood and 31.9 from Sooke, against 20.2 across Greater Victoria. One caution: the census was taken during the pandemic, and people working from home are not counted as commuters.
1. Bus lanes on Highway 1, due late fall 2027
The biggest project is the Highway 1 bus-on-shoulder lanes. Crews started on March 20, 2025. The Province says the work runs until late fall 2027.
When it is done, buses get a dedicated lane on each shoulder between the McKenzie and Colwood interchanges. The Province says that will give buses a continuous system of transit-only lanes from downtown Victoria to the Colwood exchange. The cost is $95 million: $67 million from the Province and $28 million from Ottawa. The job also includes a new Galloping Goose bridge for people walking and cycling at Craigflower Creek.
The Province's own estimate of the payoff is modest. It expects bus trips through that section to get up to about 20 per cent faster, saving up to five minutes. That comes on top of the roughly 20 minutes the existing bus lanes between downtown and Tillicum Road already save at peak times.
Drivers gain only indirectly, as buses move out of the general lanes. Nothing is added for cars.
Until then, the work itself slows things down. The project page warns of lane reductions, overnight lane closures between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m., and full overnight stops of up to 15 minutes for rock blasting. Closures are posted on DriveBC.
2. The 95 bus is already running, and getting bigger
The fix that exists today is the 95 Blink RapidBus. It replaced the old route 50 on April 10, 2023, on the same path between Langford and downtown with fewer stops. BC Transit says a 95 comes every 7 to 8 minutes at peak. Between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. it comes at least every 15 minutes, Monday to Saturday, and from 8 a.m. on Sundays.
People use it. In March 2026, BC Transit counted more than 11,000 daily boardings on the 95.
That month the first two of 39 new double-decker buses went into service. BC Transit named the 95 as the kind of busy route they are meant to help. Each seats 80, with room for 24 more standing on the lower deck. Read the fine print, though. Twenty-nine of the 39 replace buses near the end of their lives. Only 10 add to the fleet.
3. A train from Langford to Vic West: studied, not decided
The last VIA passenger train on the E&N line ran on March 19, 2011. The rails are still there.
On December 11, 2025, the Songhees and Esquimalt (Kosapsum) Nations signed an agreement with the region's mayors to explore passenger rail on the Langford to Victoria section. In September 2026, Ottawa put up $500,000 and the Capital Regional District $523,100 for the Island Corridor Foundation's feasibility and technical study. The foundation is doing that work with the Reconciliation Corridor Initiative, which the two Nations lead.
That money buys answers, not trains. There is no current cost estimate, no decision to build and no service date. Not everyone wants one, either: Friends of Rails to Trails, Vancouver Island, argues the corridor should become a trail.
What is not on the list
The Province treats Sooke Road as done. Its Highway 14 corridor project cost $85.7 million and is marked complete. Anything more for Sooke drivers would be a new project.
Langford's own plans are local. The city has adopted two transportation blueprints that map more than $60 million in road work and more than $74 million in walking and cycling projects. We covered what is in them.
Questions readers ask
What is the Colwood Crawl?
It is the local name for weekday congestion between the West Shore and Victoria, worst on the Trans-Canada Highway between the Colwood and McKenzie interchanges. The Province describes that section as prone to traffic congestion.
When will the Highway 1 bus lanes between McKenzie and Colwood be finished?
The Province says late fall 2027. Construction began on March 20, 2025, and the project costs $95 million.
Will any of these projects add lanes for cars?
No. The Highway 1 project adds lanes for buses only. The double-decker buses and the rail study do not change the road.
How often does the 95 Blink RapidBus run?
Every 7 to 8 minutes at peak, according to BC Transit, and at least every 15 minutes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays. It had more than 11,000 daily boardings in March 2026.
Where do West Shore residents work?
In the 2021 census, 46 per cent of workers from Langford, Colwood, View Royal, Metchosin and the Highlands worked on the West Shore itself. About 21 per cent worked in the City of Victoria, 15 per cent in Saanich and 8 per cent in Esquimalt.
How long is the average commute from Langford?
21.7 minutes one way in the 2021 census, compared with 22.2 from Colwood, 31.9 from Sooke and 20.2 across Greater Victoria.
Is there a train from Langford to Victoria?
No. The last passenger train on the E&N ran in March 2011. A feasibility study of passenger rail between Langford and Vic West was funded in September 2026, with $500,000 from Ottawa and $523,100 from the Capital Regional District. Nobody has decided to build it.
Is anything planned for Sooke Road?
The Province lists its Highway 14 corridor improvements, worth $85.7 million, as complete. It has announced no new project.
Sources
- Province of B.C., Highway 1 bus on shoulder, McKenzie to Colwood and May 2025 construction release
- Province of B.C., Highway 14 corridor improvements
- BC Transit, Blink RapidBus launched in Victoria, April 2023, and Victoria welcomes new double-decker buses, March 2026
- Victoria News, CRD, feds pledge funding to explore Vic West to Langford railway, September 2026
- Reconciliation Corridor Initiative, the December 2025 agreement
- CHEK News, 15 years after the last Vancouver Island train
- Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: commuting flows by municipality, table 98-10-0459, commuting duration and mode, table 98-10-0479 and table 98-10-0457
- Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population, Langford and Colwood; City of Langford, April 2025 statement citing BC Stats
