BC Translink announces service cuts as part of new three year plan

TransLink announced service cuts and freezes today as part of a three year draft 2013 Base Plan for 2013-2016.

Cuts or freezes include: 

• No increases of bus service hours (approximately 306,000 hours was originally planned)
• No expanded SeaBus service to provide 15-minute service on Sundays and holidays in fall, winter and spring
• No restoration of original funding for cycling programs and the Major Road Network
• No ten-minute, off-peak frequency on the Highway 1 Rapid Bus service
• No White Rock Centre extension on the King George Boulevard B-Line service

The plan also outlined upgrades to some Skytrain stations, Rapid Bus service, and more frequent B-Line service in Surrey.

Upgrades include:

• The Evergreen Line project (scheduled to open summer 2016)
• 109,000 new hours of transit service (Some of these hours were implemented in April 2012)
• Rapid Bus service on Highway 1 over the Port Mann Bridge from Carvolth Transit Exchange in Langley to SkyTrain in New Westminster, every 10 minutes during peak hours and 30 minutes during off-peak hours
• B-Line service every seven to eight minutes on King George Boulevard and 104th Avenue between Newton and Guilford
• Upgrades to Expo Line stations including improving capacity and accessibility at Main St. and Scott Road, Metrotown, Commercial-Broadway, Surrey Central, New Westminster and Joyce-Collingwood stations

"This document is meant to serve as the start of the conversation about the future of transit in Metro Vancouver–a conversation that includes The TransLink Board of Directors, the Mayor’s Council, the Province, stakeholders and the public," wrote Translink spokesperson Robert Willis on the official Translink blog.

Translink states that it will be posting on its blog questions about what it's done so far until the Base Plan is submitted to the Mayors’ Council for approval on November 1, 2012.