Dozens of TransLink bus routes to see improved service in new year | Daily Hive

A long line of passengers waiting for the No. 23 Main Street Station/English Bay bus at SkyTrain's Stadium-Chinatown Station on Dec. 5, 2025. (Kenneth Chan)

Metro Vancouver public transit riders can expect more frequent bus service this winter, as TransLink rolls out service increases on 37 bus routes across the region.

The changes, part of TransLink’s winter service changes, take effect Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. They are aimed at easing overcrowding, improving reliability, and extending service hours as ridership continues to grow.

Among the most significant upgrades is No. 609 South Delta Exchange/Ladner Exchange, which will now operate with all-day, 30-minute service, seven days a week. This marks the largest single increase to any bus route this winter, which is the 179th busiest bus route in the region based on TransLink’s 2024 ridership statistics.

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Another notable change affects No. 80 Marine Drive Station/River District, which will see continuous 30-minute weekday service during midday hours. Previously limited to peak periods, the route will now offer better all-day connections between the rapidly growing River District and SkyTrain’s Marine Drive Station.

To address crowding on some of the busiest routes in the region, TransLink is adding peak-period service to No. 335 Newton/Surrey Central Station. Additional frequency will also be added to No. 16 29th Avenue Station/Arbutus, No. 49 Metrotown Station/Dunbar Loop/UBC, and No. 312 Scottsdale/Scott Road Station, all of which rank among the top 30 most overcrowded routes.

No. 102 New Westminster Station/Victoria Hill, No. 103 New Westminster Station/Quayside, No. 105 Uptown/New Westminster Station, No. 109 New Westminster Station/Lougheed Station, No. 116 Edmonds Station/Metrotown Station, and No. 128 Braid Station/22nd Street Station will have earlier start times, more weekend and holiday service, and/or shorter wait times.

No. 341 Guildford/Newton Exchange and No. 342 Langley Centre/Newton Exchange will see earlier morning and later evening trips on weekends and holidays, and No, 375 White Rock/White Rock South/Guildford, No. 407 Gilbert/Bridgeport, No. 531 White Rock Centre/Willowbrook, No. 555 Carvolth Exchange/Lougheed Station, and No. 561 Langley Centre/Brookswood with a variety of enhancements such as later last trips, route pattern adjustments to serve new facilities, additional school-day trips, and/or frequency increases.

In total, at the start of the new year, Vancouver will receive more than 11,000 additional service hours across eight bus routes, while Coquitlam will see nearly 10,000 new service hours on 13 bus routes — the highest number of bus routes receiving increases. Burnaby will gain nearly 8,500 hours on seven bus routes, New Westminster more than 8,000 hours on nine bus routes, and Surrey nearly 7,000 hours on eight bus routes.

SeaBus passengers will also see minor schedule adjustments on Sundays and holidays to improve reliability. The final sailing from Lonsdale Quay will depart at 11 p.m. (instead of 11:02 p.m.), while the last trip from Waterfront Station will leave at 11:22 p.m. (instead of 11:16 p.m.).

According to TransLink, the service increases are funded through its 2025 Investment Plan, which was approved by the Mayors’ Council this past spring, with higher-than-usual hikes to fares, property taxes, and parking taxes, as well as continued provincial operating subsidies through 2027.

Combined with improvements made to 53 bus routes in September 2025 and the forthcoming upgrades to 37 bus routes in January 2026, the public transit authority will achieve about one-third of the bus service expansion outlined in the investment plan, with further improvements planned for April 2026.

These changes represent the first real net increases to Metro Vancouver’s overall bus service levels since before the pandemic. In recent years, service improvements were made on a route-by-route basis by redistributing existing service hours, meaning some bus routes improved at the expense of others.

You can find a full rundown of TransLink’s winter service changes in January 2026 online.

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