Pub-goers and shift-workers will soon be able to catch a bus in Victoria until 2:45 a.m.

B.C. Transit announced Tuesday that service on major corridor routes and to areas along the west shore will extend by an hour on Fridays and Saturdays, starting September 3.

Susan Brice, Chair of the Victoria Regional Transit Commission, said the decision was made after extensive public feedback.

"The late night service has been well-received but it needed to be extended in order to meet the needs of patrons and people working in the downtown area," said Brice.

James Wadsworth, B.C. Transit's Planning Manager, said Victoria's system has seen a "23 per cent increase in boardings the past few years," and extended service is necessary.

"We're excited that we're moving forward in making transportation better for the region," he said.

B.C. Transit announced that eight new "heavy duty" buses will allow the fleet to run later into the night.

Easier access for students

Wadsworth said more frequent services will be added to inter-urban areas, including to Camosun College and the University of Victoria.

Juliet Watts, the campaign's director for the University of Victoria's Student Society, said she's "so excited" about the announcement because the society has campaigned for longer service hours.

"We know that many students live ... near the end of these bus routes," she said.

Watts said because students live all over the Capital Regional District, it can sometimes take an hour to commute to school or downtown by bus.

Students often have to work late-night shifts downtown and it "puts strain on their budgets when they have to take taxi cabs" home afterward, she said.

Damien Merino says 40 per cent of the employees at his downtown Victoria pub are students. Late-night servers often have trouble finding affordable ways to get home after their shifts. (Rafferty Baker/CBC)

Damien Merino, manager of the Irish Times pub in downtown Victoria, said students make up 40 per cent of his staff and he's had employees refuse late-night shifts because they wouldn't be able to get home afterward.

"I would love to see buses running to three [or] four o'clock in the morning," he said.

'Transit still grossly underfunded'

Eric Doherty from the Better Transit Alliance of Greater Victoria said the service extension is a "really good move," but still an incremental step in bringing complete service to all Greater Victoria regions.

"The transit system is still grossly underfunded," he said. "The ideal system would be that [buses] are more convenient and more affordable than driving, even if you've got a car sitting in your driveway."

Doherty said an earlier morning service would allow many transit-goers to catch the first ferry of the day at Swartz Bay.

Brice said she's aware that late-night services do not extend up the Saanich Peninsula and other further away areas, but the commission will make this a priority in the coming months.

"We're trying, with the resources that we have, to spread [services] out to as much of the region and meet as [many] of the needs as we can."