The new bus service that will move commuters between downtown Maple Ridge and Coquitlam SkyTrain will also have a new name.
Instead of being called B-Line, the new service that starts in January will be called RapidBus.
“Through the Mayors’ Vision, we committed to higher capacity transit bus service throughout the region,” TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond said in a news release Tuesday.
“The B-Lines have served us well over many years, but we’ve taken the new RapidBus service to the next level. RapidBus will deliver a faster, more frequent service with new customer amenities,” Desmond said.
TransLink previously billed the arrival of RapidBus as the largest expansion to Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge transit since the West Coast Express, because it will provide frequent, all-day service with never more than a 10-minute wait in rush hour, from 5 a.m. to midnight.
It will be 19 minutes faster than the existing bus service, said TransLink.
By making the buses predominantly green with some blue, customers can more easily pick them out from the rest of the fleet, TransLink said.
In Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, the new RapidBus route will be known as the R3.
Some of the other features of the line will include traffic signal priority, queue jumps at intersections, fewer stops and all-door boarding. The buses will be new and the bus stops will have digital read-out boards.
“RapidBus is an exciting step forward for Pitt Meadows, and an exciting step forward for the region,” said Pitt Meadows Mayor Bill Dingwall.
“This new service will provide residents with a fast, frequent and reliable way to get around. It is important transit investments like these that help us create more connected and livable communities.”
The new line will have limited numbers of stops in order to speed travel time. Stops are in Haney Place Mall, at Laity Street, 203rd Street and Harris Road on Lougheed Highway, in Pitt Meadows.
Future stops could be added.
The funding is made possible through contributions from Phase One of the Mayors’ Vision, and the federal and provincial governments.
newsroom@mapleridgenews.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
