TransLink Ridership from 1999 to Present

TransLink recently compiled annual ridership statistics from the inception of the agency until the end of 2015 for its conventional transit service.

I have created two charts based on this information. The majority of TransLink’s ridership is generated by its extensive bus network. In 2015, around 65% of all boarded passenger trips were by bus. While rail and SeaBus gets lots of media attention, the bus network is really the backbone for transit in Metro Vancouver.

There was a massive dip in ridership in 2001 due to a transit strike. Bus ridership dipped in 2013 and 2014, but is now higher than ever.

TransLink Bus Boarded Passengers, 1999-2015. Select table to enlarge.

Last month, several newspapers ran a story about SeaBus ridership being at an all-time low. These story were not actually based on ridership data. The actual data shows that while SeaBus ridership peaked in 2010, and declined between 2011 and 2014, ridership was up in 2015.

TransLink Boarded Passenger, 1999-2015: SkyTrain, SeaBus, West Coast Express, Canada Line. Select table to enlarge.

West Coast Express ridership which includes TrainBus peaked in 2012. Ridership dipped in 2013 and 2014, but was back on the rise in 2015.

Expo & Millennium Line ridership peak in 2011, with a dip in ridership between 2012 and 2013. Ridership started climbing again in 2014. Ridership on the Canada Line dipped in 2013 and 2014, but was at an all-time high in 2015.