Rant and ye shall receive.
TransLink has heard the complaints of regular passengers on the No. 5 and 6 bus routes and will increase service in December.
My October column on the two-bus loop around the West End, downtown and Yaletown generated a fair amount of reader feedback, mostly saying I was wrong about how pleasantly spacious the bus was around rush hour.
Honestly, that was my experience on the two occasions I rode the route around peak times. And, honestly, I was as surprised as you were.
TransLink’s stats for 2016 backed up my experiences, ranking it joint first as Vancouver’s least crowded route with zero overcrowding hours during the year.
However, conditions can change quickly on transit; as a regular passenger aboard the No. 84, on which passenger levels see-saw between “comfortable” and “2-3 bus wait,” I know this, and appreciate I should have taken this into account when writing about a bus route through one of the most densely populated areas of North America.
I forwarded on several readers’ concerns to TransLink. A lot of the anger seemed to be the result of service changes made in late 2016 to the Nos. 5, 6 and C23 servicing the West End.
TransLink media relations adviser Jill Drews told me that the changes involved merging the C21 and C23 into one C23 route, which now accesses the West End via Beach Avenue instead of Davie Street. An expanded No. 6 route now services Davie, right into Yaletown.
“These changes were supported by 70 per cent of people surveyed as part of the Downtown Bus Service Review in 2013,” Drews said.
But according to several readers, this has been the main cause of overcrowding on the route, along with late arrivals, buses simply not stopping (displaying the message “SORRY, BUS FULL,” in what TransLink refers to as a “passup”) and two or three buses often showing up at the same time.
Other new complications included the stop near the Yaletown-Roundhouse Canada Line station, which throws airport commuters and their baggage into the mix.
TransLink data has seen this congestion play out, Drews said, with ridership data confirming overcrowding on the 5, 6 and C23 during the morning and afternoon rush hours and on the 5 and 6 on weekend evenings.
“TransLink planners are always monitoring ridership data. We base service changes on this evidence,” Drews said. “Yes, we are aware of crowding, especially during peak times, and we will be adding more trips on these routes as part of our regular December service changes,” she added.
Drews also gave some insight into official TransLink policy about leaving priority passengers on the curb when a bus is full – including recommending that drivers offer to call a taxi for them if passengers on board refuse to cede space.
Several people reported that passengers in wheelchairs and parents with strollers were often left waiting because of overcrowding on the 5/6.
A packed bus will not stop due to maximum passenger limits. If there is space and the bus stops for someone in a mobility device, the driver should ask people using the priority seating area to move.
Drews said passengers with wheelchairs or other mobility devices are given priority, followed by seniors and those with mobility issues, and then strollers.
“If customers refuse to move from the priority area to other seats, operators are instructed to leave it at that as to avoid confrontation,” Drews said.
“They will inform the waiting priority passenger they are not able to accommodate them. They’ll then ask the customer if they’d like to wait for the next bus or if they’d like us to arrange a taxi for them.”
My column also drew flak for suggesting that monthly rents in the West End are cheap. I referred to them as “relatively” cheap, at least when compared with neighbouring downtown rents. I should have made that clearer. Rental rates in the West End are, of course, still hugely inflated, as they are across the city.
Thanks for all your feedback.
• Bus Lines is a twice-monthly series featuring stories from Vancouver’s most interesting bus routes.
