Bus lanes in Downtown Langley open. Improving transit reliability, decreasing congestion.

If you’ve been in Downtown Langley lately, you will have likely noticed the new bus lanes that have been installed. While there are a few finishing touches left to do (when the weather is dry and above five degrees), these lanes are now fully functional.

New bus-only lane along 203rd Street between Fraser Highway and Logan Avenue. Select image to enlarge.

When most people think of Langley City, frequent transit might not be the first thing that comes to mind; there many be some questions as to why TransLink and the City installed bus-only lanes.

Three buses in a row during afternoon peak period in Downtown Langley. Select image to enlarge. 

With the recent introduction of the Fraser Highway Express, Downtown Langley is served by over 15 bus routes which use Fraser Highway, 203rd Street, and Logan Avenue. During the busiest parts of the day, there is a bus about every minute.

As noted on Langley City’s website:

Fraser Highway is a key transit corridor with 13,000 bus boarding’s each week and 3.5 million bus boarding’s each year. It is clear that more and more people are choosing transit with an approximately 30% increase in ridership along the Fraser Highway route in 2019 on top of the 12% increase in 2018. And, in 2018 the 502 bus was the 3rd most overcrowded bus in the entire Metro Vancouver which is what has driven the need for service changes. The 503 has seen a huge uptake as ridership quadrupled since these improvements. The transit improvements include more service along the Fraser Hwy corridor to reduce overcrowding and bus-only lanes to improve the speed and reliability of transit on this corridor.

TransLink recently released a report which shows that general road congestion increases delays and decreases reliability of bus service. TransLink is spending $75 million per year just because of this congestion! By adding bus lanes in Langley City, we are helping to improve the reliability of bus service along one of the most congested transit corridors in Metro Vancouver.

For people that drive through Downtown Langley, the City will be implementing traffic light timing changes to improve the flow of general traffic as well.