TransLink is increasing service to 47 bus routes across the Lower Mainland next month but says it still won’t be enough to address overcrowding.
Service increases include 21 “busy” routes in Surrey, North Delta and Langley and five bus routes servicing UBC, SFU and Capilano University as school returns in September, the transit agency said in a statement on Monday.
A new bus bay will also be added at White Rock Centre to increase capacity at the bus loop, which serves 13 routes, according to the statement. Route 609 will be extended from sc̓əwaθən məsteyəxʷ/Tsawwassen First Nation to Ladner Exchange to provide more equitable access to on-reserve communities and treaty lands.
TransLink says the additions will help maintain service but won’t eliminate overcrowding.
“While service is being increased in some areas, these changes do not address the rapid ridership growth and increased demand being seen across Metro Vancouver,” according to the statement.
The “short-term” improvements are made possible due to the 2024 Investment Plan, a plan released in April and approved by TransLink’s board of directors and the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation.
The overcrowding of the Metro Vancouver’s transit system is back to pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest statistics from TransLink. Its annual transit service performance review shows more than 233 million trips in 2023, up by 20.5 per cent from 2022.
TransLink says it will continue working with government partners to secure a new funding model that supports long-term regional transportation growth.
The transit company is working on a 2025 investment plan that will look at long-term solutions to overcrowding.
The new fall service changes will take effect Sept. 2.