Editing Vancouver Island (section)

===Road===
There is one major north–south highway system on the island, which runs along the eastern side. It begins in Victoria as [[British Columbia Highway 1|Highway 1]] which is part of the [[Trans-Canada Highway]] system as far as Nanaimo. There, [[British Columbia Highway 19|Highway 19]] takes over and continues to Port Hardy. The route is a patchwork of two-, four-, and six-lane roadways between Victoria and Port Hardy. The engineering characteristics and traffic control systems of the roadway vary widely from one city or district to the next and include the following variations:

Trans-Canada Highway:

# Congested, heavily signalized four-lane urban core streets with heavy [[pedestrian]] activity in Victoria and Duncan.
# Short four- to six-lane [[Controlled-access highway|freeways]] with [[interchange (road)|interchange]]s just west of Victoria and just south of Nanaimo.
# A mix of two-lane to four-lane winding mountain [[arterial road|arterial highway]] over the [[Malahat, British Columbia|Malahat]] pass.
# A moderate to heavily signalized four-lane divided arterial highway from Mill Bay to Nanaimo (interrupted by the Duncan urban core).

Highway 19:

# A moderately signalized expressway called the Nanaimo Parkway bypassing Nanaimo.
# A lightly signalized four-lane divided arterial highway from Nanaimo to Parksville.
# A stretch of four-lane high-speed freeway/expressway from Parksville to Campbell River.
# A moderate-speed two-lane arterial highway north from Campbell River to Port Hardy.<ref name="BC highways">{{cite web |author=BC ministry of transportation and infrastructure |title=BC highways |year=2013 |url=http://www.gov.bc.ca/tran/ |access-date=2013-10-24 |archive-date=2013-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020112834/http://www.gov.bc.ca/tran/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Proposals have been made for a mainland-to-island fixed link for over a century. Because of the extreme depth and soft seabed of the Georgia Strait, and the potential for seismic activity, a bridge or tunnel would face monumental engineering, safety, and environmental challenges at a prohibitive cost.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/publications/reports_and_studies/fixed_link/fixed_link.htm |title=A Potential Fixed Link to Vancouver Island – Ministry of Transportation |publisher=Th.gov.bc.ca |access-date=2010-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821203226/http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/Publications/reports_and_studies/fixed_link/fixed_link.htm |archive-date=2010-08-21 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Another north–south route is [[British Columbia Highway 17|Highway 17]] a four-lane divided highway that has a mix of interchanges and traffic lights. It connects Victoria with the [[Saanich Peninsula]], terminating the Vancouver Island portion of its route at the [[Swartz Bay ferry terminal]].

The main east–west routes are mostly two-lane but are generally free of the congestion seen on some of the four-lane highways. They comprise the following:

* [[British Columbia Highway 4|Highway 4]] between Qualicum Beach and Tofino;
* [[British Columbia Highway 14|Highway 14]] between Greater Victoria and [[Port Renfrew]];
* [[British Columbia Highway 18|Highway 18]] between Duncan and [[Lake Cowichan]];
* [[British Columbia Highway 28|Highway 28]] between Campbell River and [[Gold River, British Columbia|Gold River]]; and
* [[British Columbia Highway 30|Highway 30]] between [[Port McNeill]] and [[Port Alice]].

Vancouver Island is also well served by secondary routes, a growing number of which have efficient [[roundabout]]s in place of the [[traffic light]]s that can back up traffic on the main highway routes. Numerous active and decommissioned [[Gravel road#Logging roads|logging]] and [[Gravel road#Forest service road|forest service roads]] provide access to the backcountry.

Many communities are served by public and private transit. Greater Victoria is one of the few places in North America where [[Double-decker bus#Canada|double-decker]] buses are used in the regular public transit system. Tofino Bus All Island Express serves all major cities on Vancouver Island.<ref name="Tofino bus schedule">{{cite web |author=Tofino Bus |title=Tofino Bus schedule |year=2016 |url=http://www.tofinobus.com/schedule |access-date=2016-06-23 |archive-date=2016-06-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630075149/http://www.tofinobus.com/schedule |url-status=live }}</ref>