TransLink to run new express bus from SkyTrain Marine Drive to River District

TransLink to launch new express bus route from SkyTrain Marine Drive Station to River District

SkyTrain Marine Drive Station and bus exchange. (Google Maps)

Enhanced public transit bus services will soon be coming to the Marine Drive corridor within South Vancouver.

TransLink revealed last week its long-planned Route 80 bus service between Marine Drive Station on SkyTrain Canada Line and River District in the East Fraser Lands will launch this April, presumably timed with the seasonal bus service changes.

This will begin as a new peak-only express service with limited stops, running along Marine Drive.

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The public transit authority has yet to release the final schedule for the launch of the service, but past planning documents suggest it will operate every 30 minutes from 6 am to 9 am and 3 pm to 6 pm on weekdays only.

Map of Route 80 along Marine Drive in Vancouver between SkyTrain Marine Drive Station and River District. (TransLink)

Route 80 is intended to provide capacity relief for the existing Route 100 local service, which experiences overcrowding at peak times between Marine Drive Station and Kerr Street.

It is one of two new additional bus routes TransLink has launched in recent years to directly serve the high density residential uses of the new River District neighbourhood. In 2020, TransLink launched Route 31 between Metrotown Station and River District, which runs all seven days of the week from early morning to late evening.

There is growing traffic demand and a need for transportation alternatives to serve the density forming at River District’s 130-acre development for up to 15,000 residents and with 250,000 sq ft of commercial space. The full buildout of River District is about 15 years away.

Route 80 is also intended to help further build up ridership along the Marine Drive and Marine Way corridor between Vancouver and New Westminster, before TransLink launches RapidBus or bus rapid transit (BRT) on the corridor later this decade.

TransLink states Route 80’s operations is funded by cost savings made by its various bus stop balancing initiatives over the last few years — the practice of removing closely spaced bus stops on select routes to improve reliability, reduce travel times, and reduce operating costs. Fewer buses are needed to maintain the schedules of routes that have seen bus stop balancing, allowing the resources to be reassigned to new services like Route 80.

Route 100 will also see upgrades this year, when it is fully converted into a 100% battery-electric bus service with the arrival of 15 new additional battery-electric bus vehicles.

Starting this spring, there will also be changes to the Canada Line, with increased peak service and reallocated off-peak/mid-day services to better align service with ridership demand.

Additionally, TransLink is looking to re-establish five daily roundtrips on the West Coast Express later this year, which depends on the delivery of a refurbished locomotive.

Before the end of 2023, TransLink is also expected to launch the R6 Scott Road RapidBus serving Delta and Surrey. It recently launched the procurement process seeking a contractor to conduct road design changes incorporating bus priority measures.

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