Improved bus service along Fraser Highway, faster service to Aldergrove.

One of the most used transit corridors in Metro Vancouver and the busiest transit corridor in the South of Fraser is along Fraser Highway. Service along this corridor is primarily provided by the 502 bus route and with supplementary service by the 320. During peak periods, other routes augment these services.

Last week, Metro Vancouver mayors released their transportation vision for the region. One of the interesting facts is that light rail will be built on the King George Boulevard/104th Avenue corridor before the Fraser Highway corridor. This is interesting because the Fraser Highway corridor is the more congested corridor. Due to this congestion, service will be improving along the Fraser Highway corridor next week.

On June 23, a new route will be added along Fraser Highway. The 503 bus route will run local service between Aldergrove and Langley Centre. Heading towards Surrey Central SkyTrain, the 503 will have drop-off only service at key stops. Heading from Surrey Central, the 503 will only provide pick-up only service at key stops until Langley Centre. This new route will run about every 30 minutes for most of the day. The new route will shave about 10 to 15 minutes off the trip between Langley Centre and Surrey Central.

Map of 502/503 bus service through Langley. Select map to enlarge.

502 bus service will be improved with service every 15 minutes most of the day and up to every 5 minutes during peak travel periods. Some 502 trips will still service Brookswood during peak travel periods.

Aldergrove buses used to divert through Salmon River/Uplands twice a day. This wasn’t very useful to most passengers, resulting in longer trips for Aldergrove bus riders. The new 503 service is eliminating this diversion.

With these changes starting next Monday, transit service will be improved along the Fraser Highway corridor. Because this is part of TransLink’s service optimization plan, it is coming at the expense of service in other parts of the region.