TransLink testing different types of seats for future buses

Two different types of new bus seats available to the public to test at Lonsdale Quay's SeaBus terminal. (TransLink)

Which seat feels “just right?”

That’s the question TransLink is asking in a very different type of public consultation that is immersive.

The public transit authority is in the process of deciding between two types of new bus seats that will be used in a future order of new battery-electric buses.

These seats are about eight pounds lighter than the current seats, which would make buses up to 250 pounds lighter. With a lighter weight, the buses can travel further on a single charge.

Passengers can provide their feedback by voting for their favourite seat. The two different bus seats can be found at Lonsdale Quay’s SeaBus terminal, where passengers can take a seat and cast their vote by scanning the QR code with their smartphone.

translink electric battery bus nova bus february 2022

New model of electric-battery bus by Nova Bus being tested in Vancouver, February 2022. (TransLink)

The “winning seat” based on the feedback from customers will be installed on 14 incoming electric-battery buses expected to arrive later this year, which will allow the No. 100 bus route — running along Marine Drive between Marpole Loop in South Vancouver and SkyTrain’s 22nd Street Station in New Westminster — to become TransLink’s first 100% electric-battery bus route. The selected seat type could potentially be used on other buses ordered in the future.

TransLink states the optimal seat selection is part of its Customer Experience Action Plan of improving concepts, projects, and strategies that make public transit more comfortable use, including the introduction of new amenities and “creature comforts.”

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