Analysing YVR Transit Part 1 — Underserved Areas
Welcome to this multi-part series where we explore quirks about the transit system in Vancouver. I discovered a lot of these quirks when building torra.com, a site that shows live transit, events and amenities. Anyways, here we go…
In this article we’ll look at areas within Metro Vancouver that have little or no transit service. This is important because one of Translink’s primary goals is the following:
Provide Regional Access service across the region
Providing basic, low-frequency transit service in areas of lower density where possible.
Let’s get started…
Stanley Park
Stanley Park is home to several famous attractions including the Aquarium, Prospect Point and Third Beach. While the #19 bus does terminate in Stanley Park, the latter two attractions are not served by transit. Until 1998, the #52 looped around the park and there was also a shuttle service up until 2010.
There have been discussions to add service back to Stanley Park.
Douglas / Peace Arch
Douglas is a community of 2450 people within Surrey city limits located next the US border. The closest transit route is #375 and is over 2km away.
Peace Arch border crossing is served by bus number #75, which makes 10 trips a day to Bellingham. Unfortunately the #75 bus runs only on the American side of the border, while people traveling into Canada need to walk 30 minutes to reach the nearest bus stop.
There are currently no plans to add service to this area.
South Surrey
While most of South Surrey is well served with the 321, 350, 351 and 360 frequent bus routes, the area north of 20th Street only has the #352 bus, which is a peak-hour only service. Any transit users in this area would need to walk up to 2km to the nearest stop.
There is a good reason why this area has poor service, and that is because this area is sparsely populated. In addition, it is the most affluent part of Surrey. However, the same could be said for other areas such as the British Properties in West Vancouver, which are served by the 253, 254 and 256 buses.
Sea Island North / Iona Beach
Once served by the C90 community shuttle, this area contains a major UPS and Canada Post facility. This route was discontinued in 2012 due to low ridership. Further down the road, Iona Beach is only accessible by private vehicle and has never had transit service.
There are no plans currently to reinstate service to this area.
East Fraser Heights
A new route #338 was proposed to 2019 to add coverage to this area. So far no changes have been announced. This may be because the eastern portion of this region has yet to see high density development, and the #337 already provides service to the western portion.
Terminal Avenue
Although situated underneath a Skytrain guideway, Terminal Avenue is only served by 6 peak-hour trips of the #22 bus. Access from the North and the South are restricted by railways, and pedestrian access from the East is achievable only on a narrow sidewalk next to high-speed traffic along the Grandview Viaduct.
Businesses along this corridor include Home Depot, and the Vancouver Flea Market. In the coming decade, this area will undergo significant development, and gain better pedestrian connections to the nearby Skytrain stations.
Surrey after 2am
In Vancouver, the Nightbus provides access to the entire city, plus routes to Coquitlam, Surrey and Richmond. On the other hand, once the last #321 leaves Surrey Central at 2:18am, there is no service to Newton, Fleetwood, Langley or South Surrey until almost 3 hours later.
There are currently no plans to add Nightbus service to Surrey. However given the ridership growth in the Southeast region, this should only be a matter of time.
Honourable Mention — Abbotsford Centre
Although not part of Metro Vancouver, Abbotsford Centre hosts many major events including the Abbotsford Canucks.
Ongoing labour action has suspended all transit service in the Fraser Valley. However even during normal service hours, service back into Metro Vancouver ends at 7pm, well before events are finished.
In part 2 tomorrow, we will cover route lengths
