TransLink looks ahead to 2012

January 23, 2012

Service increases; faregates bloom
TransLink looks to real growth in 2012

After making initial improvements to service in December, TransLink is poised for additional, marked service lifts in 2012. The next expansion under the Moving Forward supplemental plan, approved in late 2011 by TransLink’s Mayors’ Council, is scheduled to take place in April; it will further support TransLink’s overall mandate to ensure the efficient movement of people and goods around Metro Vancouver.

“The new funding enabling the Moving Forward plan is welcome,” says TransLink CEO Ian Jarvis. “Our ongoing Service Optimization Initiative – first implemented in 2010 – has demonstrated that we can more efficiently and effectively manage our resources. As a result, our planners were able to prioritize expansion projects, so that areas of greatest need are served first.”

  • Buses – an additional 40,000 service hours will be added in April, and by year’s end, 180,000 new service hours will be in place;

    • More than half of these new hours will be allocated in the South of Fraser Area, including a new local service, the #531, connecting South Surrey/White Rock and Langley via 24th Avenue.
    • Later in the year a new B-Line service will be introduced on King George Boulevard/104th Avenue connecting Guildford, Surrey Central, Newton and White Rock Centre.
    • The Frequent Transit Network – in which buses run no more than 15 minutes apart, from early morning until mid-evening, seven days a week – will expand. New additions to the Frequent Transit Network include the #19 Stanley Park/Metrotown, Lonsdale Avenue in North Vancouver, the 97 B-Line and the #145 SFU/Production Station.
    • The 99 B-Line will see a significant increase in service in off-peak periods and on weekends.
    • Two of the more heavily used NightBus routes – the N19 Surrey Central and N24 Upper Lonsdale – will be expanded.
    • Planning is underway for additional services to address overcrowding.
  • SeaBus is also due to expand its services, and details on that expansion will be announced in the coming months.
  • Upgrading Main Street-Science World Station – including a new elevator (on the east side) – will move to detailed design consultation and into construction.
  • Planning and design is underway for upgrades at other stations across the network.
  • Cyclists will see more initiatives to make bicycling a more attractive form of transportation, with full $6 million-a-year funding restored to that department.
    • Among the planned projects are upgrades to the BC Parkway – which follows the route of the Expo Line – in conjunction with the installation of faregates.
    • TransLink will also co-host Velo-City 2012 in Vancouver. At Velo-City 2011 in Spain, TransLink became a signatory to the Seville Charter, in which cities and agencies around the world pledged to work towards making transportation networks more conducive to cycling.

In addition to projects under the Moving Forward plan, TransLink is also proceeding with other initiatives, including:

  • Faregates – with the start of 2012, the preparatory work for the installation of faregates is nearing completion at some stations. As 2012 progresses, the gates themselves, with the readers to enable the Compass card, will emerge across the SkyTrain system, with preliminary testing on the card expected to begin in late fall.
    • In addition to providing a convenient means for customers to pre-pay their transit fares, Compass cards – which activate the faregates and card readers – will provide firm data so that planners can plan for even greater efficiency and effectiveness; they will also provide necessary information for a fare review in the longer term.
  • The OnTrack program, upgrading the original Expo Line and its stations, will continue:
    • Work on Scott Road Station – including the long-awaited west-side elevator – will be completed.
  • Customer Information initiatives , which took great strides in 2011, will continue to develop, especially with Real-Time Next Bus moving from Beta testing to full implementation.
  • A campaign to raise awareness of the Golden Ears Bridge and the real savings motorists in the area can realize in time fuel and money, even after paying a toll to cross.
  • Consultation on a replacement for the Pattullo Bridge.
  • Completion of the North Shore Area Transit Plan.
  • Further work on the Surrey and Broadway/UBC Rapid Transit Plans.

Projects such as faregate/card reader installation and other OnTrack work will bring benefits to customers in the near future, but can also be expected to cause some temporary inconvenience during the construction period. TransLink will keep customers informed, but people should also check www.translink.ca/ontrack to get the most up-to-date information on stations and exchanges that are affected.

More Moving Forward projects – particularly those involving bus service expansion – will be announced through 2012, as plans are finalized. TransLink closed out 2011 with its highest ever customer satisfaction rating – 7.7/10 – and is looking to these service improvements as a way of building on that success.