West Coast Trail Express — Attraction in Victoria

Sorry this is a long post because I need to explain the contexts. We booked our bus (for our family of 4) on April 2 for our July 28 departure. On July 28 when trying to board the bus, we were told our names were not on the list, and there was only one seat vacant, so we will be left behind. We had a 9-pm ferry to catch at Swartz Bay. We were told while booking the bus that no need to bring any document, just give the names, so I did not even print our reservation. Luckily there was a tiny bit of cell service so we were able to present our reservation. The driver Roger tried to call the owner Michael Anderson repeatedly for about 20 minutes but couldn't get hold of him. Fortunately 3 ladies stepped out and told us they called the bus company and were moved from the next day's bus to the 28th. I am grateful that they were gracious enough to let us get on the bus. Now they were left behind to find a ride or accommodation through no fault of their own. We were impressed with the driver Roger. He tried to solve the problem, drove great and was able to make up the lost 30 minutes safely. We were able to get to the ferry terminal with 10 minutes left before our reservation expired.

The second half of the story happened today when I finally got around to call West Coast Trail Express to inquire what happened. I talked to the owner Michael. He claimed he was not aware of this. He was was agitated, asked me what was my problem? this was 5 days ago, why am I calling now? He said he had to get up at 4:30, and go to bed at 10:30pm, and could barely keep the company running just to allow us hikers get on the bus...

After the conversation, I am left with even less faith that this kind of incident will not happen again in the future.

UPDATE (12:30 pm): Michael reached out to me soon after our phone conversation to apologize and he offered us a full refund. This is much appreciated, and gives me hope and faith in the...

I did the Juan de Fuca trail in September 2023, shuttling up to China Beach and then back from Port Renfrew with the West Coast Trail Express (booking a return reservation gave me a discount too so that was nice). Both times on the bus were great, the drivers were friendly, helpful and punctual.

When I was dropped off at China Beach (at the start of my trip), the driver handed me my pack and told me and the other hikers being dropped off to check that all our gear was in place. He even waited a little bit afterwards to make sure we were good to go and it wasn't until I had reached the China Beach parking lot that I realized that some items dropped out of the mesh pocket on the side of my pack, including a sentimental Nalgene that's been on all my previous trips. Luckily my Nalgene wasn't an essential part of my trip (I also carried a hydration bladder and separate water filter), so I could still continue.

At the end of my trip I called the company and spoke with Michael (I think he's the owner), and he said he would take a look later to see if he could find my stuff in the lost and found. I live in Vancouver and had to catch the ferry before he was able to call me back, so I kind of accepted that I lost my items and began to browse for replacements. However, Michael called me a few days later and said he found them and fortunately for me, he was going to be passing by Vancouver in the coming days. We were able to meetup and I was finally reunited with my lost items!

Michael has certainly gone above and beyond the job, I think the shuttle stops running at the end of September, and I met up with him in October - so that was during his personal, non-working hours, just so that I could get back the things I lost. I really appreciate his actions and am definitely going to use their services again when I decide to do the West...

Best bus service ever, the driver Ed was a great driver for the rough roads on the west coast. He was patient with any questions and concerns. I had left the bus in a rush and left my phone on the seat, they found it but had driven it up to Gordon River and it was not with them when they came to pick us up. However coordinating with Michael the owner, Ed and another driver Jeff, they looked after my phone the next day from Gordon River to Victoria. They returned my phone to me the next day in Victoria at no extra cost, as it would have been impossible for me to pick it up in Gordon River without a car. I can't thank them enough for their kindness. I will definitely go with them again, and would...