Vancouver Island Coach Lines operated the primary sightseeing tour bus business to Butchart Gardens. It owned the Gray Line franchise for the Greater Victoria area.
The company’s connection to Butchart Garden History is that it was, for decades, the leading operator of bus tours between downtown Victoria and the Butchart Gardens.
Vancouver Island Coach Lines schedule, June 1927 Note the reference to “Visit Mr. Butchart’s Gardens”. (Author’s collection)George “Rebel” Mowat (right) with the first converted sightseeing bus received by Gray Line of Victoria, a subsidiary of Vancouver Island Coach Lines, 1940. The other two men in photograph are Angus “Winnipeg” Chilton and Harold Husband (photo: City of Victoria Archives)Vancouver Island Coach Lines schedule, summer 1957 Note the $4.85 round trip fare to Butchart Gardens. (Author’s collection)
