Transit journeys were up almost 21 per cent to 233 million in 2023, and that includes big ridership increases in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, and on the West Coast Express commuter train.
Translink conducted last year’s transit service performance review, and released the results at the end of April.
Compared with the pre-COVID number of average daily boardings in 2019, the Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows sub-region rose to 122 per cent. Investments in the R3 Lougheed Highway RapidBus, which was introduced in January of 2020, has helped provide new capacity, the review says.
The West Coast Express saw ridership grow by 47 per cent, with average daily boardings reaching 5,300, out of 1.2 million daily boardings on the system.
“This marks a significant milestone, with WCE ridership recovery now at 54 per cent, exceeding 50 per cent for the first time,” said the review.
“Our ridership in Maple Ridge has increased dramatically,” echoed Maple Ridge Mayor Dan Ruimy.
He noted that a fifth West Coast Express train was added last year, and “definitely, there’s a need for it.”
Ruimy predicts that when a new Bus Rapid Transit line is installed between Maple Ridge and Langley, with a new Langley Skytrain station, the new infrastructure will result in another big jump in ridership here.
“That’s going to create a whole different level of service,” he said.
READ ALSO: City of Maple Ridge lobbied for new BRT service
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows accounts for just one per cent of the total ridership on the system, or 3.2 million boardings in 2023.
Ruimy, who serves on the Mayor’s Council on Regional Transporation, said transit expansion and investment needs to continue, but the big challenge is a reliable funding model for TransLink.
He sees expanding the system as a good investment that helps with economic development, stimulates new housing, brings reliable transportation, and is part of the answer to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The review shows in 2023 there were 900,000 people who used transit each week, or about one-third of the Metro population.
The region also had 90,000 new residents in the past year, which was nearly double what was projected, and over half of those use transit as their mode of transportation.
“It has become clear that transit service is struggling to keep up population growth, and without future investment, this problem will only worsen,” said CEO Kevin Quinn.
The review says the increasing ridership is overwhelming the system, and predicts overcrowding will double in Surrey and increase 2.5 times in Vancouver.
READ ALSO: B.C. economist calls on Ottawa to get on board with more transit spending