One of the neat things that TransLink has done is post a searchable archive of the Buzzer newsletters online which goes back to 1916. One of the interesting Buzzer newsletters I found was from 1988. Up until July 25, 1988, the 70,500 residents of the City and Township of Langley did not have BC Transit (now TransLink) service. At that time they got the following routes:
501 (Langley South – New West SkyTrain): 30 minute peak/60 minute off-peak service
502 (Fernridge/Brookswood/Langley Center – New West SkyTrain): 30 minute peak/60 minute off-peak service
506 (Murrayville – Langley Centre), 507 (Fort Langley – Langley Centre, 511 (Aldergrove - Willowbrook) with 60 minutes or worse service
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| 1988 Bus Route Map of Langley |
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| Current Bus Route Map of Langley |
I'm pretty sure the Township operated its own modest bus system pre-1988. I think former alderman Carol Gran was instrumental in getting it started--but I could be mistaken.
ReplyDeleteHi Nathan! Jhenifer Pabillano here from TransLink & the Buzzer blog.
ReplyDeleteFirst, it's fabulous to hear you're using the Buzzer archive :) It's such an immense resource on our history!
Second, I passed your blog post on to my colleagues in transit planning to ask for any feedback.
They sent on the following response.
"Frequencies on the 320, 501, and 502 have all increased dramatically over the past 14 years. While there is some overlap between the community shuttle routes (implemented in September 2002) and the previously existing 506 there are large areas that have new service.
In particular the C70, 320, 364, 395, and 531 all operate (at least partially) on streets that never had service in 1988. 60th Avenue, 64th Avenue, and 196th Street are all largely covered by bus routes that have been introduced since 1988 (364, 395, and C70). The C60, C61, and C63 have all increased the service south along 200th Street. These community shuttles now provide service during the peaks (which the 502 previously did) and during the off peak hours (for which there was no previous service).
While the network maps makes it appear as though there was no change it has in fact changed quite dramatically as the system is now accessible to residents during the off-peak times."
They also put together a little PDF which you can see here:
http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Langley-Centre-Routes-2012.pdf
It contains a map of the local Langley service routes plus a list of the bus routes today and the ones from 1988.
In 1988 we had the following routes:
320
501
502
506
507 (Replaced by 509 trips)
511 (Replaced by 502 Aldergrove trips)
Today in 2012 we have:
320
364
501
502
509
531
590
595
C60
C61
C62
C63
C64
C70
So local service has indeed changed since 1988! I hope this helps show some reasons why.
What many parts of Langley need are DART/ODT (Dial A Ride Transit / On-Demand Transit)Most of the 80 in Metro Vancouver Community Shuttle buses can be replaced with DART/ODT. Ridership will increase by at least 25% .
ReplyDeleteKPU operates its only shuttle bus connecting its campuses because TransLink does not want to provide better service.
The density per sq km is important in providing good transit service, but also the street system needs to be designed to support transit. Frequent Transit Network is to attract new "Choice" passengers. There is a large number of "captive" passengers most of them live in the older cities that had good transit service for over 100yrs. We need to redesign the Transit system in the Lower Mainland from Hope to Pemberton in all three Regional Districts.