Metro Vancouver public transit riders will benefit from some TransLink bus service improvements as part of the Fall 2024 seasonal service changes.
These are considered “modest” frequency increases, but they represent some of the first net gains in service since the onset of the pandemic. Previous changes to improve service involved redistributing service hours from less busy routes to more crowded ones.
According to TransLink, a total of 47 bus routes will see frequency improvements starting on September 2, 2024, including increases to 21 bus routes in Surrey, North Delta, and Langley, five bus routes serving the campuses of the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, and Capilano University.
This includes improved services for the 99 B-Line, R1 King George Boulevard RapidBus, R4 41st Avenue RapidBus, and No. 100 22nd Street Station/Marpole Loop.
Also, one Night Bus, the N19 Downtown/Surrey Central Station, will have higher frequencies during its overnight operating hours.
These September 2024 service improvements were approved earlier this year — funded by a stop gap measure of a 2024 property tax increase and the continuation of annual fare hikes, with future years potentially seeing greater increases.
TransLink also notes that a new bus bay at White Rock Centre will increase capacity at the bus loop, which serves 13 bus routes.
Seasonal service changes take place every January, April, June, and September to adjust and optimize for fluctuations in ridership demand throughout the year.
But the picture beyond 2025 is murky; TransLink is warning that it could be forced to curtail a majority of Metro Vancouver’s public transit services starting in 2026 if its structural operating revenue shortfall is not addressed by senior governments. This includes eliminating 145 bus routes and decreasing services on retained bus routes, substantially cutting back on SkyTrain, SeaBus, and HandyDART services, and potentially eliminating the West Coast Express.