More people took transit in Metro Vancouver in October than any other month in TransLink history, the transportation authority announced Wednesday.
The SkyTrain, HandyDART, SeaBus, West Coast Express and buses saw a combined total of 39.65 million riders last month, surpassing the previous record of 39.2 million set back in February 2010 when Vancouver was hosting the Winter Olympics.
“At TransLink our focus is on delivering transit service improvements for our customers through the Mayors’ 10-Year Vision,” TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond said in a statement. “It’s great to see this kind of ridership growth, one sign that customers are responding to better transit service right across the region.”
October's numbers mark a nearly 3.5-million rider, or about 9.3 per cent, increase from the same month last year.
The West Coast Express saw the largest spike during that time (12.6 per cent), going from about 210,000 riders to 240,000. Buses, which make up the bulk of ridership numbers, saw a 10.5-per-cent increase, from 22.13 million passengers in October 2017 to 24.45 million last month.
The Canada Line saw the smallest increase at seven per cent.
According to TransLink, ridership growth is being driven by rising gas prices and high employment in addition to expanded transit services.
TransLink plans to add double-decker buses to its fleet in 2019 to accommodate growing ridership.
