A select number of busy local bus routes operated by TransLink in Vancouver, Burnaby, North Vancouver, and West Vancouver could see a new variation of their routes with fewer stops.
Under its proposed Burrard Peninsula Area Transport Plan, which will undergo public consultation starting on February 10, 2025, TransLink is looking to significantly expand the offering of Express Bus routes.
Seven of the eight new Express Bus routes would be a variation of existing local bus routes that run along busy arterial roads and see high ridership volumes, with some of these existing local routes being TransLink’s busiest bus routes. Such new services would be a precursor to the potential future launch of RapidBus or Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines along the same corridors, with the Express Bus helping build ridership for a superior bus service.
Similar to the 99 B-Line, the new Express Bus routes would operate with fewer stops. Some new, faster routes would run on a select segment of an existing local bus route and/or take a slightly different route.
These new Express Bus routes would operate alongside local bus services, some of which could see reduced frequencies.
For example, the existing No. 19 Stanley Park/Metrotown trolley bus is a local bus route that makes frequent stops between the Stanley Park bus loop in Vancouver and SkyTrain’s Metrotown Station bus exchange in Burnaby. TransLink’s proposed express version of the No. 19 would be the No. 19X, running between SkyTrain’s Main Street-Science World Station and Metrotown Station along a short segment of Main Street and then Kingsway.
In 2023, the No. 19 was TransLink’s 10th busiest bus route for annual ridership out of nearly 200 bus routes across Metro Vancouver, attracting an average of 12,600 boardings per weekday, 12,300 boardings per Saturday, and 11,000 per Sunday/holiday. According to the public transit authority, this bus route sees high delays.
The busy diagonal route of Kingsway between Vancouver and Burnaby was previously a segment of Highway 1 and Highway 99 before the construction of the freeways. The long-decommissioned Interurban streetcar also followed this route.
TransLink articulated bus. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Another new Express Bus route would be the No. 20X as a variation of the No. 20 Downtown/Victoria Drive local trolley bus route along Hastings Street, Commercial Drive, and Victoria Drive between downtown Vancouver and River District — an extension of the bus route’s existing terminus of Harrison bus loop. The No. 20 is TransLink’s 11th busiest bus route, with 2023 averages of 13,300 boardings on weekdays, 10,600 on Saturdays, and 9,000 on Sundays/holidays. TransLink is eyeing a new RapidBus service along the Commercial Drive/Victoria Drive corridor over the longer term.
With significant high-density residential uses, there is a need to improve public transit services at River District in the southeast corner of Vancouver. The existing No. 80 Marine Drive Station/River District bus, launched in 2023, would see its easternmost terminus extended to SkyTrain’s 22nd Street Station in New Westminster, with this same route eyed for a future RapidBus. This is a variation of the existing No. 100 22nd Street Station/Marpole Loop local bus route.
Map of the existing bus network. (TransLink)
Map of the proposed future Express Bus network. (TransLink)
When it comes to other brand new Express Bus routes, the major east-west local bus route of the No. 25 UBC/Brentwood Town Centre Station would see its express variation of the No. 25X. It would follow the exact same full route as the existing No. 25 along King Edward Avenue, East 22nd Avenue, and Willingdon Avenue, but with limited stops.
According to TransLink, the existing No. 25 has high ridership and strong demand for an express service between UBC and SkyTrain’s Brentwood Town Centre Station. In 2023, the No. 25 was TransLink’s fifth busiest bus route, with averages of 21,000 boardings per weekday, 14,000 per Saturday, and 11,000 per Sunday/holiday. In April 2024, the No. 25 ditched the use of the lower-capacity 40-ft conventional buses for the higher-capacity 60-ft articulated buses.
The No. 49 UBC/Metrotown Station local bus route could also see its express version of the No. 49X, running along the exact same route with more limited stops. It was upgraded to the use of the larger 60-ft articulated buses in 2016, but overcrowding remains a problem due to high demand.
In 2023, the No. 49 was TransLink’s third busiest bus route, with averages of 26,700 boardings per weekday, 16,800 per Saturday, and 14,300 per Sunday/holiday.
As a variation of the No. 123 Brentwood Station/New Westminster Station, the new No. 123X would follow the same route along Canada Way, which could see a RapidBus route in the future.
Various new and improved Express Bus services would also reach the North Shore, including variations of the No. 240 Downtown/Lynn Valley (No. 240X) and No. 250A Dundarave/Vancouver (No. 250X).
A new Express Bus route, not based on any existing local bus service, would run between SkyTrain’s 29th Avenue Station in Vancouver and Phibbs bus exchange in North Vancouver along Renfrew Street and the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge. This would serve the expected significant future high-density residential developments around Phibbs bus exchange and within the new Rupert Station and Renfrew Station Area Plan.
Here is a complete rundown of the proposed new Express Bus routes:
- 19X of the No. 19: New express bus service along Main Street and Kingsway between Main Street-Science World Station in Vancouver and Metrotown Station in Burnaby
- 20X of the No. 20: New express bus service along Commercial Drive and Victoria Drive between downtown Vancouver and River District
- 25X of the No. 25: New express bus service along King Edward Avenue between Brentwood Town Centre Station in Burnaby and UBC.
- 49X of the No. 49: New express bus service along 49th Avenue between Metrotown Station and UBC.
- 123X of the No. 123: New express bus service along Canada Way between New Westminster Station and Brentwood Town Centre Station.
- 240X of the No. 240: New express bus service between downtown Vancouver and Lynn Valley via the Lions Gate Bridge, Marine Drive, and 15th Street.
- 250X of the No. 250A: New express bus service between downtown Vancouver and Ambleside in West Vancouver via the Lions Gate Bridge and Marine Drive.
- New K: New express bus service along Renfrew Street and Ironworkers Memorial Bridge between 29th Avenue Station in Vancouver and Phibbs bus exchange in North Vancouver.
Existing B-Line and RapidBus routes already share the main characteristic of being limited-stop services.
Some of TransLink’s previously discontinued Express Bus routes include a special non-stop version of the 99 B-Line between Commercial-Broadway Station and UBC during peak hours only, which operated in the early 2000s until it was replaced by the No. 84 VCC-Clark Station/UBC express bus route.
Most recently, in 2020, the No. 43 UBC/Joyce-Collingwood Station express bus route — a variation of the No. 41 local service on the exact same route between UBC and SkyTrain’s Joyce-Collingwood Station — was upgraded to the R4 41st Avenue RapidBus. After the launch of the R4 RapidBus, the No. 41 was switched to a trolley bus service, with its western end point moved east from UBC to Dunbar bus loop.
TransLink’s R4 41st Avenue RapidBus in Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
All proposed changes and additions to the bus route network are currently in the conceptual phase and serve as a foundation for planning. The second phase of the Burrard Peninsula Area Transport Plan is scheduled to enter public consultation on February 10, 2025.
It’s important to highlight that these major bus network upgrades depend heavily on resolving TransLink’s looming financial challenges, which are expected to take effect in 2026. Addressing this fiscal shortfall is essential to maintaining current service levels and securing the additional funding needed for network expansion. TransLink’s 10-year vision through 2035 includes a plan to double bus service levels across the region.
At the same time, TransLink is inviting public feedback on its first two proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines: the King George Boulevard BRT and the Langley-Haney Place BRT. An online survey for these separate BRT projects is available until February 9, 2025.