Susan Yates
GERTIE Biographer
Thanks to an extraordinary anonymous donation, GERTIE and our community of bus riders and supporters can look forward to a couple of service changes in January, and another one when we get to our usual spring schedule change in May.
Beginning in January, the Sounder will publish monthly ads showing which GERTIE buses meet the ferries arriving at Descanso Bay.
Our regular schedule is being revised slightly too – it has already been posted on social media and on the GERTIE website; updated printed riders guides will be available soon at the usual outlets – Nesters, Mid Island Co-op, and the Nanaimo ferry terminal.
And, we are happy to announce that beginning in January, youth fares (age 13 to 18) are free! Which means vendors will no longer be selling Youth monthly passes or books of tickets, and the usual $2.25 single cash fare will not be collected on the bus.
We hope this will encourage more student-age riders and we’ll be promoting this again in the spring for adventure, not just school/ferry commutes.
When we switch to the spring/summer schedule in May there will be another big change that many people have been asking for: we are adding an hour to the afternoon schedule to help fill the gap that sometimes prevents people from taking the bus for two-way transit.
Or even one-way: getting off the ferry hoping that GERTIE will get us up the hill (that would be me) in mid-afternoon.
The Gabriola Community Bus Foundation wants to thank every person who has made a donation to GERTIE in 2025.
Every kind gesture helps to maintain and improve our bus service, and lift the spirits of everyone on the GERTIE crew.
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