It is that time of the year when TransLink releases annual ridership performance statistics about Metro Vancouver’s public transit system for the previous calendar year.
If it anecdotally seems far busier and more crowded on TransLink’s various services, the statistics back up that observation.
Ridership in terms of annual journeys in 2023 reached 233.2 million, representing a 20.5% increase from 193.6 million in 2022 and nearing the 269.7 million recorded in pre-pandemic 2019.
When it comes to ridership in terms of annual boardings, this figure reached slightly over 390 million in 2023 — also up by about 20% from 325 million in 2022, and and now hovering just between the annual boarding totals of 2016 and 2017.
Furthermore, in Fall 2023, the region’s public transit system served 430,000 unique passengers on an average weekday, and about 900,000 unique customers per week. According to TransLink, the equivalent of one-third of Metro Vancouver’s population used public transit at least once per week.
In terms of the share of ridership in 2023, the Vancouver/UBC sub-area accounted for 46% of total annual boardings, followed by the Southeast sub-area (Surrey, North Delta, White Rock, and Langley) with 19%, the Burnaby/New Westminster sub-area with 17%, the Southwest sub-area (Richmond, YVR, Delta, and Tsawwassen) with 8%, the North Shore sub-area with 6%, the Northeast sub-area (Coquitlam, Port Moody, and Port Coquitlam) with 4%, and the Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows sub-area with 1%.
But in terms of year-over-year annual ridership growth from 2022 to 2023, the Southeast led with an increase of 29%, followed by the Northeast with 23%, Southwest with 22%, Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows with 20%, North Shore also with 20%, Burnay/New Westminster with 19%, and Vancouver/UBC with 17%.
Year-over-year public transit ridership growth in Metro Vancouver’s sub-areas in 2023. (TransLink)
Overall SkyTrain ridership up by about 20%
Total ridership on the combined Expo and Millennium lines reached just over 100 million boardings in 2023, representing a 21% year-over-year increase. Both combined lines saw averages of 311,000 boardings per weekday, 237,000 per Saturday, and 183,000 per Sunday/holiday. In contrast, in pre-pandemic 2019, the Expo and Millennium lines saw an average of 360,000 boardings per weekday.
The separate Canada Line system also saw a similar 20% year-over-year increase in boardings, totalling over 140 million over the course of 2023. It averaged 120,000 boardings per weekday — up from about 153,000 per weekday in pre-pandemic 2019 — as well as 100,000 per Saturday and 84,000 per Sunday/holiday.
In 2023, all three lines combined — Expo, Millennium, and Canada — recorded an 87% recovery of pre-pandemic 2019 ridership.
The busiest segment of the Expo Line and the entire SkyTrain network is the segment towards downtown Vancouver between Commercial-Broadway Station and Main Street-Science World Station, which saw average daily passenger volumes of 121,000 per weekday — still behind the pre-pandemic 2019 figure of 151,000 for the same segment.
The busiest segment on the Canada Line is still between King Edward Station and Broadway-City Hall Station, which saw average passenger volumes of 66,000 per weekday in 2023 — still down from 85,000 in pre-pandemic 2019.
In terms of station ridership, Waterfront Station — served by the two stations of the Expo and Canada lines — is still the busiest SkyTrain station out of the total network of 53 stations. It recorded 9.89 million boardings in 2023, which is up from 7.89 million in 2022, but still considerably down from 13.27 million in pre-pandemic 2019.
The ridership of the stations in downtown Vancouver’s Central Business District also provides an indicator of the return of tourists and the ongoing recovery of the real usage of office workspaces. Burrard Station and Granville Station each saw year-over-year boarding increases of about one million, but Burrard Station is still about two million behind its pre-pandemic 2019 total and Granville Station is trailing by under a million. Vancouver City Centre Station saw a year-over-year ridership increase of about 700,000, and is about 1.5 million behind 2019.
Metrotown Station remains the second busiest station, with 8.21 million boardings in 2023 — up from 6.65 million in 2022, and still catching up to the 8.9 million of pre-pandemic 2019.
Commercial-Broadway Station — the pivotal interchange hub between the Expo Line, Millennium Line, and 99 B-Line — recorded 6.23 million boardings in 2023, which is up from 5.37 million in 2023 and still down from 8.11 million in pre-pandemic 2019.
The 2023 makeup and order of the top 10 busiest SkyTrain stations is generally the same as 2022, with the exception of the new ninth place ranking of King George Station, which saw its ridership increase from 3.55 million in 2022 to 4.62 million in 2023. King George Station is now nearing its pre-pandemic 2019 ridership of 4.72 million. While New Westminster Station recorded a year-over-year increase of 600,000 boardings, its ranking dropped from ninth in 2022 to 11th in 2023.
- Top 10 SkyTrain stations for boardings in 2023:
- Waterfront Station (Expo, Canada): 9.89 million
- Metrotown Station (Expo): 8.21 million
- Commercial-Broadway Station (Expo, Millennium): 6.23 million
- Granville Station (Expo): 5.86 million
- Burrard Station (Expo): 5.79 million
- Joyce-Collingwood Station (Expo): 5.0 million
- Surrey Central Station (Expo): 4.92 million
- Vancouver City Centre Station (Canada): 4.75 million
- King George Station (Expo): 4.62 million
- Stadium-Chinatown Station (Expo): 4.44 million
Select SkyTrain stations outside Vancouver exceed pre-pandemic ridership
Despite the demolition of the previous Oakridge Centre shopping mall, ridership at Oakridge-41st Avenue Station remains relatively strong, with 2.31 million boardings recorded in 2023 — down from 2.9 million in 2018 and 2.84 million when the mall was still largely intact, and up from 1.95 million in 2022. The ridership losses from the temporary closure of the mall are likely at least partly offset by the operation of the R4 41st Avenue RapidBus, which has seen significant ridership growth since the service launched in 2020.
In Spring 2025, the new Oakridge Park shopping mall will open, and provide a secondary entrance into Oakridge-41st Avenue Station via a new underground passageway from the mall.
More than a handful of SkyTrain stations saw a 2023 ridership that exceeded pre-pandemic 2019 levels, such as Brentwood Town Centre, Burquitlam, Coquitlam Central, Gateway, Scott Road, and Surrey Central. In particular, Brentwood Town Centre exceeded 2019 figures by about 330,000 to reach 2.12 million in 2023, and Surrey Central is about 400,000 higher to reach 4.92 million in 2023. Surrey Central ranked as the seventh busiest station in 2023, up from eighth in 2022 and 13th in 2019.
Another handful of stations also came close to exceeding 2019 levels, such as 22nd Street, Joyce-Collingwood, Nanaimo, Templeton, and King George.
Throughout 2023, Canada Line ridership volumes at Aberdeen Station, Lansdowne Station, and Richmond-Brighouse Station were impacted by extensive scheduled service disruptions to accommodate the construction of the new Capstan Station, which is expected to open in Summer 2024. However, all three of these stations still saw a year-over-year boarding increase.
In 2023, YVR Airport Station — the station that directly serves the terminal building of Vancouver International Airport (YVR) — recorded 2.81 million passengers, representing an increase from 2.23 million in 2022 and a decrease from 3.14 million in 2019. This fluctuation is also reflected by YVR’s ongoing recovery in air passengers, reaching 24.9 million passengers in 2023 — up from 19 million in 2022, and nearing the all-time record of 26.4 million in 2019.
99 B-Line sees major ridership growth
There are over 200 bus routes across Metro Vancouver, which collectively accounted for over 242 million boardings in 2023 or 63% of all boardings across the public transit network. This represents a recovery of 88% of pre-pandemic 2019 levels, and a 19% increase in boardings over 2022.
The makeup and order of the region’s top 10 busiest bus routes remains largely the same, with the 99 B-Line, the R4 41st Avenue RapidBus, and the No. 49 still ranked as the region’s busiest bus services. The 99 B-Line saw its total boardings increase from 9.7 million in 2022 to 11.3 million in 2023, while the R4 and No. 49 each saw about one million more passengers compared to the 2022.
The No. 20 Victoria/Downtown trolley bus route dropped out of the top 10 makeup, and was replaced by the No. 19 Metrotown Station/Stanley Park trolley bus route.
In 2026, the 99 B-Line will see major changes as a result of the opening of the Millennium Line extension reaching Broadway. The 99 B-Line route will be truncated between the new Arbutus Station and UBC bus exchange.
For the first time ever since the RapidBus-branded services were initially rolled out in 2020, the R3 Lougheed Highway RapidBus reached and exceeded an annual ridership of one million.
In January 2024, TransLink launched its sixth RapidBus-branded service — the R6 Scott Road RapidBus along Scott Road and 72 Avenue between Scott Road Station and Newton bus exchange in Delta and Surrey. Some of the ridership on the existing No. 319 is expected to be transplanted onto the R6, with the No. 319 retained and downgraded as a local bus service.
- Top 10 bus routes for annual ridership in 2023:
- 99 B-Line: 11.31 million
- R4 UBC/Joyce-Collingwood Station RapidBus: 8.84 million
- 49 Metrotown Station/UBC: 8.45 million
- 319 Scott Road Station/Newton Exchange: 6.83 million
- 25 Brentwood Station/UBC: 6.64 million
- 16 29th Avenue Station/UBC: 5.35 million
- R1 Surrey Central Station/Newton Exchange: 4.88 million
- R5 Burrard Station/SFU RapidBus: 4.67 million
- 5/6 Robson/Downtown: 4.53 million
- 19 Metrotown Station/Stanley Park: 4.49 million
- RapidBus ridership in 2023:
- 99 B-Line UBC/Commercial-Broadway Station (TransLink’s busiest bus route): 11.31 million annual boardings; average of 35,900 boardings per weekday
- R4 UBC/Joyce-Collingwood Station (2nd busiest bus route): 8.84 million annual boardings; average of 27,900 boardings per weekday
- R1 Surrey Central Station/Newton Exchange (7th busiest bus route): 4.88 million annual boardings; average of 14,600 boardings per weekday
- R5 Burrard Station/SFU (8th busiest bus route): 4.67 million annual boardings; average of 13,600 boardings per weekday
- R2 Park Royal/Phibbs Exchange (39th busiest bus route): 1.96 million annual boardings; average of 5,800 boardings per weekday
- R3 Coquitlam Central Station/Haney Place (75th busiest bus route): 1,000,000 annual boardings; average of 3,000 boardings per weekday
SeaBus returns to pre-pandemic weekend ridership
Total ridership on the SeaBus ferry service between downtown Vancouver and Lonsdale reached 5.7 million in 2023, representing an increase of about one million from 2022, but still about one million short of the pre-pandemic 2019 tally.
The average daily boardings in 2023 reached 15,980 per weekday, 16,970 per Saturday, and 13,020 per Sunday/holiday — still recovering towards the 2019 average of 19,870 per weekday, but essentially on par for the remaining days of the week, with 2019 averages of 16,870 per Saturday and 13,046 per Sunday/holiday.
West Coast Express sees ridership gains, but still trailing
The West Coast Express saw a significant year-over-year ridership increase of 47% from 885,000 boardings in 2022 to over 1.3 million in 2023.
This can be attributed to the ongoing recovery of office commuters into downtown Vancouver, and the return of the fifth train in each direction starting in June 2023, which restored the commuter rail line’s pre-pandemic frequencies. However, the operating capacity is still below 2019 levels from the use of fewer passenger cars per train.
The 2023 ridership tally on the commuter rail line represents a 54% recovery of 2019’s tally of 2.6 million boardings.
- Station ridership on the West Coast Express:
- Waterfront Station:
- 2019: 1.219 million (average of 4,880 per weekday)
- 2022: 412,000 (average of 1,660 per weekday)
- 2023: 614,000 (average of 2,480 per weekday)
- Moody Centre Station:
- 2019: 289,000 (average of 1,160 per weekday)
- 2022: 98,000 (average of 400 per weekday)
- 2023: 152,000 (average of 610 per weekday)
- Coquitlam Central Station:
- 2019: 310,000 (average of 1,240 per weekday)
- 2022: 89,000 (average of 360 per weekday)
- 2023: 134,000 (average of 540 per weekday)
- Port Coquitlam Station:
- 2019: 258,000 (average of 1,030 per weekday)
- 2022: 85,000 (average of 340 per weekday)
- 2023: 490 (average of 490 per weekday)
- Pitt Meadows Station:
- 2019: 98,000 (average of 390 per weekday)
- 2022: 34,000 (average of 140 per weekday)
- 2023: 48,000 (average of 190 per weekday)
- Maple Meadows Station:
- 2019: 167,000 (average of 670 per weekday)
- 2022: 57,000 (average of 230 per weekday)
- 2023: 85,000 (average of 340 per weekday)
- Port Haney Station:
- 2019: 131,000 (average of 520 per weekday)
- 2022: 50,000 (average of 200 per weekday)
- 2023: 68,000 (average of 270 per weekday)
- Mission City Station:
- 2019: 135,000 (average of 530 per weekday)
- 2022: 63,000 (average of 250 per weekday)
- 2023: 88,000 (average of 350 per weekday)
- Waterfront Station:
Although overall ridership levels on the public transit system are now nearing pre-pandemic 2019 levels, TransLink maintains that fare revenues continue to be lower due to passengers buying cheaper fare products — more single-trip fares, fewer monthly passes — as they are taking fewer trips on public transit due to reasons such as semi-remote office work.