If you build it, they will come, as the saying goes.
Since the SkyTrain was built in 1986 for the famed expo, TransLink has seen “unprecedented” numbers across the board.
But now it’s dealing with new problems: there are too many commuters for the system to keep up with.
“The fact is, the demand is greater than we are able to put out service,” said TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond.
At the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation on Thursday, TransLink released its 2018 Transit Service Performance Review.
Last year’s numbers show ridership has gone up across the board on all systems: buses, SeaBus, SkyTrain, West Coast Express and HandyDart.
In total, there were 447.4 million annual boardings, which is a 7.1 per cent increase year-over-year.
“That’s a double-edged sword. This is exactly what we’re hoping to do, encourage people to take public transit but with the service we’re having, we are seeing more crowding on our trains and buses,” said Jonathan Cote, chair of the mayors’ council. “Certainly that’s something the mayors’ council is very eager to try and address, and continue more investments.”
In the report, TransLink has identified 52 jam-packed routes and is adding service hours to 32 before the summer.
As part of its plan, it will be introducing 620,000 bus service hours over the next three years, rolling out 350 more vehicles to its fleet and adding 80 new cars to its three SkyTrain lines.
Cote said they have funding over the next four years to pay for these improvements, but is worried about that funding drying up.
“Our big concern is seeing the trends, seeing how well transit is being taken in the region, that funding is going to come to an end,” he said.
The mayors’ council is asking for stable, predictable funding from the provincial and federal governments.
