B.C.’s new transportation minister is promising Langley residents they will have a rapid bus by the time the new Port Mann Bridge opens less than three months from now.
Just last week TransLink warned that the region’s rapid bus was on hold because of a lack of funding, but Minister Mary Polak assured Wednesday the service is coming soon.
“I’m confident that when the Port Mann Bridge opens in December, we will have rapid bus going across that bridge,” Polak said.
Polak has not announced any new funding, however, and it remains unclear how the service will be paid for.
Langley Mayor Peter Fassbender suggested it may take “a re-jigging of the finances and reprioritization” for the project to move forward.
The rapid bus is expected take commuters from Langley’s pending park-and-ride lot, set to be completed in November, over the Port Mann Bridge and to the Lougheed SkyTrain Station in Burnaby in just 25 minutes, potentially faster than going by car.
The projected net cost in its first year is $2.8 million after fare revenues. Full implementation would see the bus running every 10 minutes during peak periods and every 15 minutes outside of peak hours.
The same fare structure will be applied to the rapid bus as other TransLink services, which currently charge $5 for an adult three-zone ticket.
With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Michele Brunoro
