6 more B-Line rapid bus routes planned by TransLink

Map of the six additional B-Line routes envisioned for the future in the 2020s. (TransLink)

Almost every corner of the region could be connected by a B-Line rapid bus service in just a few years from now, and this is on top of the four new routes that will be launched in 2019.

TransLink has longer-term plans to start six additional B-Line routes:

Map of the six additional B-Line routes envisioned for the future in the 2020s. (TransLink)

These routes are:

Lions Gate B-Line: From downtown Vancouver to Lynn Valley via the Lions Gate Bridge. The City of Vancouver is already considering a redesign of West Georgia Street that could significantly improve the street for buses.
Victoria Drive B-Line: From downtown Vancouver to Marine Drive via Hastings Street and Victoria Drive.
Ironworkers-Willingdon B-Line: From Phibbs Exchange in North Vancouver to Brentwood Station and Metrotown Station via Willingdon Avenue. This will also provide a rapid connection between the mid-points of the Expo Line and Millennium Line.
Richmond-Metrotown B-Line: From Metrotown Station in Burnaby to Bridgeport Station – for a connection to Vancouver International Airport – and Richmond-City Centre Station in Richmond.
120 Street-White Rock B-Line: From Scott Road Station in Surrey to Newton Exchange in Surrey via 120 Street, then to White Rock. It will connect with the Surrey Newton-Guildford LRT line at Newton.
Coquitlam-Langley B-Line: From Coquitlam Central Station to Langley Centre via the Pitt River Bridge and the Golden Ears Bridge.

Some of these routes could potentially be an upgrade of an existing service with greater reliability, speed, and frequency. The public transit authority’s new standard for a B-Line service is a day-long service from early morning to late night with buses arriving 10 minutes or better during peak periods and 15 minutes or better during off-peak hours.

Subject to the finalization of funding commitments, these routes could be operational in the 2020s.

All of this is in addition to the four announced and funded B-Line routes – part of the Mayors’ Council’s $2-billion phase one transit expansion plan approved in late-2016. These four routes will launch by the end of 2019:

Map of the new B-Line routes that will be launched by 2019. (TransLink)

These phase one routes are:

41st Avenue B-Line: Joyce-Collingwood Station to UBC
- Traveling along West 41st Avenue in Vancouver from UBC to SkyTrain’s Joyce-Collingwood Station, with stops in between such as Oakridge-41st Station and Kerrisdale.
- Provides an additional 19 km of B-Line bus service, with connections to the Canada Line and Expo Line.
North Shore B-Line: Main Street to Marine Drive
- Traveling along Marine Drive and 3rd Street between Dundarave in West Vancouver, Park Royal, Lower Lonsdale, and Phibbs Exchange, with stops such as Capilano Mall.
- Provides an additional 14 km of B-Line bus service, with connections to Lonsdale SeaBus terminal.
Fraser Highway B-Line: Surrey Central Station to Langley Centre
- Traveling along Fraser Highway from Surrey City Centre to Langley Centre, with stops such as Clayton, Fleetwood, and Willowbrook.
- Provides an additional 13 km of B-Line bus service, with connections to the Expo Line.
Lougheed B-Line: Coquitlam Central Station to Haney Place
- Traveling along Lougheed Highway from Coquitlam Central Station to Haney Place, with stops at Port Coquitlam Centre, Pitt Meadows, and Maple Ridge.
- Provides an additional 18 km of B-Line

Altogether, this brings the potential number of B-Line routes in the region to as many as 13 routes – up from the three existing today, with the 99 UBC/Broadway, 96 Surrey Guildford/Newton, and 95 SFU/Burrard Station.

TransLink also plans to enhance the B-Line routes with separate branding and features that will enhance the speed and reliability of the services, such as extensive traffic signal priority, bus-only lanes, and queue jumpers.

There will also be new special bus shelters with real-time information screens displaying the current time and time of arrival of the next buses and accessibility elements such as yellow tactile pads.

And the articulated three-door bus vehicles that all B-Line routes use will see improvements as well, including onboard Wi-Fi, dynamic onboard wayfinding, line diagrams on buses, and a new exterior bus livery that clearly identifies the B-Line as a superior bus service.

See also