We are very fortunate to have a 21-seat bus to use for trips. We now have a bus committee with the mandate to generate as many viable bus trips as possible. The more trips we have the more likely we are to meet the expenses required to keep the bus running.
Unfortunately, there are considerable costs associated with maintaining and insuring it. With any trip comes the commensurate cost of fuel and the driver honorarium. These costs are even higher when the trip involves a ferry trip over to the mainland where the cost of ferry fee, fuel and driver honorarium is over $400. Therefore, at $40 per passenger we need at least 10 people to simply break even on the trip costs.
However, this does not provide any income to contribute to the yearly expense of maintaining the bus. To make that happen we need at least 15 paid passengers on bus ferry trips. That is why we have had to cancel Casino trips when the ridership is too low. You will note that for all our future trips we have had to impose a minimum ridership of 15 to avoid any cancellation.
On a safety and liability note, moving forward (excuse the pun) you are required to sign a waiver the first time you travel in the bus. Also, you must wear your seatbelts at all times, and there must be no walking around on the bus while it is in motion.
The bus committee has done a great job in putting together the trips listed here. Tickets for the Tea & Trumpets series of 6 performances on Thursday afternoons at the Orpheum theatre Vancouver (October 2024 to June 2025) sold well. We have 15 members who have paid for their series tickets and will pay the bus fare as each performance approaches. There are 6 seats left available for each trip. If you obtain your own tickets directly from the Orpheum, you are welcome to pay for one of those bus seats and come along for the ride, either for single performances or the series.
Please support the bus trips so that we can afford to keep it on the road. If you have ideas for trips, feel free to write them down and drop them off at the front desk. The bus is also available for rental to non-profit organisations. In July 2025 we will review and report on the bus finances after a full year of trips organised by the committee.
