TransLink announces plans for four new B-Line routes by late 2019
Posted March 6, 2018 11:43 am.
Last Updated March 7, 2018 8:35 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
PORT COQUITLAM (NEWS 1130) – More Metro Vancouver transit riders may be getting ready to make a bee-line home on the bus.
TransLink has announced four new limited-stop, high frequency B-Line bus routes which are expected to start running by the end of 2019.
The new B-Line routes will be:
- Fraser Highway, between Surrey Central and Langley Centre
- Main-Marine, between Dundarave and Phibbs Exchange along the North Shore
- 41st Avenue, between UBC and Joyce-Collingwood Station in Vancouver
- Lougheed Highway, between Coquitlam Central Station and Haney Place in Maple Ridge
“This is an exciting day for all of us around the region and we’re looking forward to having those buses on the road so our residents have an option to take transit or their car to get around this region.” Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore said. “Places like Port Coquitlam and Maple Ridge and the North Shore where we want to see rail eventually, this is that first phase into getting there.”
The buses will have a frequency of 10 minutes or better during peak times, and 15 minutes or better during off peak, according to TransLink. The routes will run at least 18 hours per day.
The public will be asked to weigh in on potential stop locations, local route adjustments, and changes to street infrastructure during a survey to be launched early next month.
To accommodate the new routes, 58 articulated buses will be added to the fleet.
“We’ve had great success with our existing three B-Line services, but we know there are more ways to make them faster and more frequent as we expand the program to new areas,” says TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond.
“We hope addition of four new B-Line routes with more amenities will make transit a realistic option for more people as we work to improve mobility and livability across Metro Vancouver.”
The Main-Marine will not connect to the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal because TransLink believes there is sufficient transit running to the location right now, according to Desmond.
The new routes will more than double the number of B-Line routes in Metro Vancouver from three to seven. The last B-Line route introduced was the 95 B-Line in late 2016 which connects Burrard SkyTrain Station to Simon Fraser University.
