TransLink has announced major service increases for its bus, SkyTrain and SeaBus services.

At a press conference Monday, TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond announced the transit provider is bringing in 24 new SkyTrain cars, adding 40,000 annual bus hours and increasing SeaBus capacity by 50 per cent beginning next month.

“We know that the first week of September is the busiest week of the year for commuters,” said Desmond. “That’s why we’ve timed these increases to do our part in reducing congestion. Whether it’s SkyTrain, bus or SeaBus, these changes will help reduce wait-times for our customers all across the region.”

TransLink is implementing the following changes starting Sept. 3:

SkyTrain

  • Adding 24 new SkyTrain cars (six full trains) into service, increasing capabity on Expo and Millennium lines during peak times

503 Langley Centre/Surrey Central

  • Upgrading route to limited-stop express service, with buses every eight minutes during peak times on weekdays
  • Providing service every 10 to 15 minutes during daytime off-peak hours

301 Newton Exchange/Brighouse Station

  • Providing service every 30 minutes from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.on weekdays
  • Bringing new double-decker buses in October

N17 Downtown/UBC Night Bus

  • Providing half-hour service to downtown until 5 a.m. and half-hour service to UBC until 4:30 a.m.

Other popular routes seeing increases include 5 Robson/Downtown, 6 Davie/Downtown, 7 Nanaimo Station/Dunbar, 19 Metrotown Station/Stanley Park, 49 Metrotown Staion/Dunbar Loop/UBC, 99 Commercial-Broadway/UBC, 112 Edmonds Station/New Westminster Station, 116 Edmonds Station/Metrotown Station, and 342 Newton Exchange/Langley Centre.

The increases are in addition to the annual return to regular service levels for post-secondary institution routes.

SeaBus

  • Introducing 10-minute sailings during peak hours on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Increasing capacity by 50 per cent during peak times

Desmond says some of the increases have come as a result of service studies that show many of the routes were chronically over crowded. He added that consistently adding service has been instrumental in supporting a 17 per cent increase in bus ridership over the past three years.

Funding for the increases will be coming from Phase One of the Mayors’ Council 10-year Vision, the Province of British Columbia and Government of Canada.