Mayors’ Council investigating more bus service for region, big boost in South of Fraser

As part of the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation Vision, 11 new B-Line routes are in the works that will be deployed throughout Metro Vancouver. While the original plan would provide frequent, express bus service, it didn’t include upgraded customer amenities such as custom bus shelters, real-time information at stops, ticket purchasing at stops, and the implementation of transit priority measures on the road network.

In mid-November, I posted about how the Mayors’ Council was investigating working with municipalities to fund these enhancements. At the December Mayors’ Council meeting, TransLink staff noted that providing some of the customer amenities and limited transit priority measures would requires $6 million per year in cost-sharing with municipalities over eight years. This is their recommendation for moving forward.

The Mayors’ Council Transportation Vision is split into three phases. Phase one is already funded and being implemented. Phase two will hopefully have funding in place this year.

Phase two bus expansion will see a 6% increase in service by 2020/21. The Mayors’ Council is investigating moving some of the proposed phase three bus service improvements into phase two. This would deliver a total 8% increase in bus service by 2020/21.

The following map shows where the proposed enhanced phase two bus service will be delivered.

Map of Phase 2 Bus Service Package – Minimum and Moderate Scope Combined. Select map to enlarge.

Some of the proposed service enhancements include:

• New service to Harbourside in North Vancouver
• New service to East Fraser Lands in Vancouver
• New service to East Fraser Heights in Surrey
• Improved integration with the West Coast Express and 2019 Lougheed B-Line
• Improved service in Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge
• New service on 68 Avenue in Surrey
• Langley shuttle bus network re-structuring

The South of Fraser will see a large increase in bus service if this enhanced phase two plan moves forward.

Proposed distribution of new bus service hours in Phase One and Phase Two. Select chart to enlarge.

For a long time, transit service in the South of Fraser was not keeping up with population growth. If this enhanced phase two plan moves forward, South of Fraser transit will start to catch up with growth.