The latest data from TransLink shows transit ridership reached an all-time high in 2018. The 2018 Transit Service Performance Review (TSPR) measures ridership, cost, reliability, on-time performance and crowding across all transit modes. The findings inform upcoming service changes and identify opportunities to improve service.
Key findings include:
- Boardings:+ 7.1 per cent system-wide (TransLink's biggest ever annual increase)
- Bus: + 8 per cent
- SeaBus: + 6 per cent
- SkyTrain: + 5.7 per cent
- West Coast Express: +7 per cent
- HandyDART: + 5.8 per cent
The TSPR helps us measure where more service is urgently needed to keep the system reliable and efficient. We’ve identified 52 routes with overcrowding and are adding service hours to 32 of them before July. Some of the actions TransLink is taking, thanks to our funded Investment Plans, include:
- Adding 620,000 bus service hours to improve frequency and increase capacity over the next three years
- Begin rolling out over 350 additions to the bus fleet, including four electric buses, 32 double-deckers and 56 HandyDART vehicles
- Adding 56 cars to Expo/Millennium and 24 cars to Canada Line to increase capacity
“The release of this Performance Review is a matter of transparency for TransLink,” according to TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond. “We want the public to see the numbers for themselves and understand where we need to invest even more in transit services. We are improving data reporting with the first HandyDART interactive summary, a breakdown of ridership data for each municipality, and a refreshed data dashboard. Thanks to the support of the region’s Mayors, the Province of BC and the federal government, we are investing more than ever to accommodate the growing number of customers who rely on our system every single day.”
“Ridership is exploding, and our region is growing,” said Chair of the Mayors’ Council Jonathan X. Coté. “If we are going to cure congestion, we need to invest in both new transportation infrastructure and service expansion to make commutes quicker and easier now, and into the future.”
