BC Transit expands Lougheed SkyTrain to Chilliwack express bus service | Daily Hive

BC Transit's express bus from Lougheed Town Centre SkyTrain station to Fraser Valley sees expanded service

No. 66 FVX Fraser Valley Express bus. (BC Transit)

As of last week, at the start of 2024, the No. 66 Fraser Valley Express (FVX) bus service operated by BC Transit has seen an increase in service levels to help accommodate growing ridership demand.

The No. 66, also referred to as the FVX, runs along Highway 1 between SkyTrain’s Lougheed Town Centre Station in Burnaby and downtown Chilliwack, making five stops along the way at TransLink’s Carvolth bus exchange in Langley Township, McCallum and Highstreet in Abbotsford, and Vedder and Lickman in Chilliwack.

When it was first launched in 2015, FVX’s westernmost terminus was Carvolth bus exchange. Then in March 2022, the bus service saw a significant route extension westward, bringing the westernmost terminus to Lougheed Town Centre Station, which is also served by a major bus exchange.

BC Transit told Daily Hive Urbanized that ever since the FVX route was extended to Lougheed Town Centre Station, the ridership growth of the service has accelerated, with more people using this as an interregional public transit connection between the Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver.

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According to BC Transit, the FVX currently sees between 2,100 and 2,400 boardings per day, which represents an increase of over 200% from pre-pandemic 2019 levels. In 2024, the FVX saw a total of about 600,000 annual boardings, representing an increase of over 50% from 2023.

For a bus service that operates throughout the day, every day, and uses standard 40-foot buses, the FVX compares relatively well to TransLink’s West Coast Express commuter rail. For example, in 2023, according to the latest available TransLink data, the West Coast Express saw an average of 5,000 boardings per day for its weekday-only service, with only a handful of peak travel direction trips running only during the peak morning and afternoon periods.

FVX’s current ridership is also comparable to TransLink’s R3 RapidBus, which runs along Lougheed Highway between SkyTrain’s Coquitlam Central Station and Haney Place in Maple Ridge. In 2023, the R3 averaged 3,000 boardings per weekday, 2,400 boardings per Saturday, and 1,900 boardings per Sunday/holiday.

Route map of No. 66 FVX Fraser Valley Express, as of September 2024. (BC Transit)

BC Transit states the FVX’s service expansion as of January 2025 adds 2,600 service hours and an additional bus vehicle, which provides more trips during weekdays to accommodate an increase in demand for service. Three trips have been added, including two trips in the late morning and one trip in the early afternoon, with these trips specifically running between McCallum in Abbotsford and Lougheed Town Centre Station — effectively providing more service to the busiest segment of the route.

This is in addition to the September 2024 service improvements that added 2,900 service hours to the FVX, including two additional buses. This specifically increased the number of trips in the afternoon and evening weekday periods and weekend services, with earlier and more frequent trips.

The September 2024 and January 2025 service improvements combined have added 5,100 service hours and three buses to the FVX.

Currently, following the service improvements, FVX makes a total of 29 roundtrips per weekday to/from Lougheed Town Centre Station, with roughly one-third of these trips starting/ending at McCallum. On weekdays, the first eastbound bus departs from Lougheed Town Centre Station at 6:20 am, while the last bus departs at 9:00 pm. From downtown Chilliwack, the first eastbound bus departs at 4:43 am, and the last departs at 7:24 pm. Buses run at intervals ranging from as little as 20 minutes to over an hour between departures.

There is reduced service on weekends, with 16 roundtrips scheduled for Saturdays and 12 roundtrips scheduled for Sundays, which begin later in the morning and end earlier in the evening.

Depending on road conditions and traffic congestion, each one-way trip on the FVX between Lougheed Town Centre Station and downtown Chilliwack takes approximately 90 minutes.

Fares on the FVX are set at $5.00 for any distance travelled, and fares can either be paid in cash (coins) or using BC Transit’s new Umo digital fare payment system, which offers a smart card option (similar to TransLink’s Compass Card) or app-based payment using the Umo app. Discounted fares are also available for frequent riders, including a package of 10 rides for $45.00, a 30-day unlimited pass for adults for $100, and a 30-day unlimited pass for concession (ages 18 and under or 65 and over) for $85.

No. 66 FVX Fraser Valley Express. (BC Transit)

The recently implemented FVX service level upgrades are financially supported by the provincial government, BC Transit, the Fraser Valley Regional District, the City of Abbotsford, and the City of Chilliwack.

In November 2024, the Fraser Valley Regional District and the municipal governments of Abbotsford and Chilliwack endorsed a plan to further increase FVX services in 2026, subject to available funding. Starting in January 2026, FVX would see an additional 9,500 service hours, including 2,400 hours to improve frequencies on weekends and holidays, and 7,100 hours to improve frequencies in the mornings, afternoons, and along the full length of the route.

Furthermore, FVX could see an additional 7,300 service hours for peak frequency and service span improvements starting in January 2027, but this is subject to further discussion, analysis, and funding.

It was also noted last fall that the FVX currently enjoys an operating budget surplus due to a combination of high ridership levels, BC Transit funding, and provincial government subsidies.

When asked whether the FVX could see its bus fleet expanded with the use of larger vehicles over the coming years, such as 60-ft-long articulated buses or double-decker buses, BC Transit told Daily Hive Urbanized they are reviewing the potential use of different bus types to achieve greater reliability, but no fleet decisions have been made at this time, with frequency improvements being the short-term priority.

Staff with the Fraser Valley Regional Districted noted in their November 2024 report that the “FVX continues to outpace expectations, with data showing that, regardless of trip time, trips are well used and buses are often operating close to or above seated capacity.”

FVX’s reliability and travel times could improve from the provincial government’s $5 billion widening of Highway 1 between Langely Township and Abbotsford, which includes new bus-on-shoulder lanes and a new bus exchange at the 264th Street interchange to serve the Gloucester industrial park. The freeway’s widening to Mount Lehman Road will reach completion in 2029, while the widening to Highway 11 will reach completion in 2031.

No. 66 FVX Fraser Valley Express bus. (BC Transit)

BC Transit is also in the early stages of considering launching a brand new express bus route along Highway 7 — north of the Fraser River — between Agassiz and the City of Mission. Upon launch, it would make only a few trips per day, with each way taking about one hour to complete along the 50-km-long route. Mission is currently the easternmost terminus of the West Coast Express.

In the Fall 2024 provincial election campaign, David Eby’s BC NDP included the platform promise of providing the West Coast Express commuter rail with an eastward route extension from Mission to Chilliwack.

The West Coast Express operates on leased track time on tracks owned and operated by Canadian Pacific (CP), and its service has been virtually unchanged since its initial launch in the late 1990s.

In their platform, the BC NDP stated they would work on “connecting communities in the Fraser Valley through a new rail service, working jointly with CP” to provide “cleaner, more efficient transit options for people and help reduce traffic congestion on Highway 1.” This is expected to build on the provincial government’s recently completed feasibility study of identifying options to provide the West Coast Express with eastward extension options and build new regional rail routes.

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