TransLink unveils new RapidBus service for Surrey and Delta

Metro Vancouver's regional public transit authority says a new express bus service unveiled on Tuesday will get residents of Surrey and Delta around faster.

TransLink announced their latest RapidBus route at an event at Surrey's Scott Road Station Bus Exchange.

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke called the announcement of the R6 bus route along Scott Road, servicing Kwantlen University, an "important step for Surrey," and said it would help make the city more affordable.

"The growth in our community has been extraordinary over the past decade," Locke told reporters. "But certainly now transit is what is needed absolutely the most ... not just for students in school.

"It's all part of what is affordability for everything we do."

Michael McDaniel, president of Coast Mountain Bus Company, said the R6 RapidBus will service more than 30,000 daily riders and alleviate what he described as "more overcrowding" than before the pandemic, on the existing routes in the area.

"It's not only the busiest bus route South of the Fraser, it's our fourth busiest of this region," he said. "We've heard from our customers Surrey and Delta needed better bus service.

"Now the R6 provides a critically important express option for Surrey and Delta residents to connect to SkyTrain."

'Waiting for a way faster service'

Transit rider Melissa Grubb frequently takes the number 319 bus, which covers a similar route to the new R6, and said it is both overcrowded and unnecessarily slow.

"The 319 is super slow, so I'm waiting for a way faster service," she told CBC News. "I usually take it during rush hour; it takes you like a half-hour to get up the hill, like four stops maybe. 

"I'm hoping that will get nixed by this one [RapidBus]."

CBC News requested data from TransLink about which bus routes were the subject of the most rider complaints in the region. Route number 319 is, in fact, one of the most complained-about routes in the system, the agency revealed.

TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn said the R6 would "bring some much-needed relief to commuters."

His agency's four-year RapidBus program consists of high-frequency express transit service — featuring larger vehicles, fewer stops, dedicated lanes, and boarding allowed through all bus doors — along some of the region's busiest routes.

The new R6 route is expected to make commutes faster by up to 10 minutes in each direction, he added, offer free wifi on board, and allow 20 per cent more people to use transit daily.

"Transit is overcrowded," Quinn said. "Ridership south of the Fraser has not only bounced back but it has surpassed pre-pandemic levels by 16 per cent."

Locke said she is looking forward to the planned launch of another RapidBus route along King George Boulevard in the coming year.

She said the series of new public transit routes will help Surrey adapt to a rapidly increasing population and major housing developments.

"We're just really very, very pleased about that," Locke said. "And we're looking forward to the next step."