West Coast Express faces potential elimination, along with bus service to entire communities
Metro Vancouver’s transit system is on the precipice of some of the steepest service cuts in its history, leaving entire communities without bus service and stranding the most vulnerable passengers, unless the provincial and federal governments step up with additional funding, according to a new report to be released today.
“This would include cancelling approximately 145 bus routes, significantly reducing SkyTrain, SeaBus and HandyDART service, and potentially eliminating the West Coast Express. Funding for walking, cycling, and roads programs would also be cut.
The report will likely spur significant debate during the upcoming provincial election campaign, and influence how political parties structure their party platforms on transit funding. “At that scale, it is not possible to simply reduce costs by lowering frequency or span of service. We would need to eliminate entire routes, as well as reduce frequencies and span of service on all remaining routes.”Under the first, TransLink would cut 45 per cent of bus service, focusing on the least productive routes first and saving those that have the highest ridership in Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond and central Surrey.
In this scenario, 15 per cent of SeaBus service would be cut, ending service an hour earlier and reducing peak frequency on weekdays to 15 minutes. The Expo-Millennium SkyTrain line would see a 10 per cent service cut, and the West Coast Express would drop from five to three round trips per day. In both scenarios, HandyDART service for those with disabilities would be slashed 35 per cent and be limited to medically trips, cutting off most day programs, education trips and other service for those with mobility issues.
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