Improving Service Through Efficiency

August 27, 2012

Redirecting services to where they are needed most

TransLink is putting existing transit resources to the most effective use in order to ease overcrowding on routes South of the Fraser and at Simon Fraser University.

“Demand for transit service is growing South of Fraser and all across the region,” says TransLink CEO Ian Jarvis. “So far we have been able to avoid a reduction in service hours by addressing costs and we are redirecting our existing service hours to where they are needed the most.”

As of Monday, Sept. 3,
• #143 Coquitlam Stn/SFU will run every 12 minutes instead of every 15 eastbound from 2-4pm, Monday to Friday.
• the #145 Production Way Stn/SFU will also improve to every 12 minutes southbound from 4-9 pm Monday-Friday
• #135 Burrard Stn/SFU will increase frequency to every 15 minutes on Saturdays from 9-11pm.

In Surrey,
• #345 White Rock Centre/King George Stn will run every 20 minutes during the weekday morning peak period, instead of every 30.
• #395 King George Stn/Willowbrook will increase frequency to every 12 minutes from every 15 in the morning and every 20 minutes instead of every 30 in the afternoon. All trips on the #395 will start at 200th St & 64th Ave; currently, some rush hour trips begin at 176th St. In September, these trips will also begin at 200th & 64th, providing more transit options for people living in the area and reducing the pressure on the #502 Aldergrove/Brookswood/Langley/Surrey Central route.
• #640 Scott Rd Stn/Ladner Exchange will convert from a Community Shuttle bus after 8 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays to a conventional 40’ bus, responding to increased demand caused by industrial growth along River Road. This builds on improvements in the #640 made in June, when morning rush hour service was increased.
• #501 Surrey Central/Langley Centre will run more frequently Saturdays, noon to 3pm.

So far this year, the South of Fraser area has also seen direct benefits from increased service on the #502 Langley Centre/Surrey Central, which added four more trips in the morning and evening rush hours; the #320 Langley Centre/Surrey Central also increased rush-hour service in the past year between Fleetwood and Surrey Central.

Further east, the #595 bus, which crosses the Golden Ears Bridge, will take a shorter route as of September 3 and travel only between Langley Centre and Maple Meadows Station. There has not been sufficient demand for the bus to go all the way to Haney Place Mall, which it has done since its inception. The #595 meets the West Coast Express and customers needing to continue towards Haney Place may transfer to the #701 Haney Place.

These service improvements have been made possible by redirecting service hours to where they are needed most. This means that certain routes will run less frequently at certain times of the day or night. The change may be barely noticeable – a 9-minute gap instead of 7 – or it may be significant, like moving from half-hour service to 60-minute service. Customers should check schedules to see how or whether their route is affected and plan their travel accordingly.

In 2011, the second year of TransLink’s Service Optimization Initiative, productivity was improved by 3.1 per cent, with 5.6 per cent more rides than in 2010. 

For more information, please visit the Transit Service Changes webpage.