Passenger queuing study at Commercial–Broadway Station
Passenger queuing study at Commercial–Broadway Station
If you ride the 99 B-Line you’ve probably spent time in one of the big and muddled lineups at Commercial–Broadway Station. They’re long, disorganized and take up space from pedestrians trying to use the sidewalk.
With a million more people coming to the region over the next 30 years and the addition of the Evergreen Line in 2016, this stop is going to get even busier. That’s why we’re designing a new shelter and queuing system for the 99 B-Line stop at Commercial–Broadway Station. The shelter will be built as part of Phase 2 Upgrades at Commercial–Broadway Station (to be complete in summer 2016).
To make sure the design of the shelter and the queuing system meets the needs of passengers, we’re doing a passenger queuing study. It’s happening January 27-30 for the westbound 99 B-Line at Commercial–Broadway Station during peak morning hours.
Are you a 99 B-Line rider?
You can expect temporary changes to the queuing system for the westbound 99 B-Line bus stop at Commercial–Broadway Station during the study.
- Lightweight barriers and pavement markings will be used to test different queuing systems
- Queues for the 99 B-Line will be different each morning and there will be minor changes made during peak hours
Thanks for your patience over the next few days! A new queuing system is on its way!
Author: Jennifer Morland
I support this study. Every bus stop should be looked at to some degree, depending on how much time and money permit. I look forward to the seeing what happens.
I really hate it when people cut in line.
Thanks for your support, Eugene! We’ll provide an update on the new queuing system later on.
This is such a good idea, the bus stop at Broadway / Commercial is SO disorganized. I think a queue system is much needed.
This is a great idea and is MUCH needed. The 99 is so over crowded as is, and there are unfortunately a sizeable group of people out there who will cut to the front every time. It’s so irritating, I would love to see that curbed any way possible.
Is there any way that you can publish the trial layouts so that we can comment on their effectiveness? It’d be great to have some say in what we thought worked or what didn’t!
Hi David! We’re testing a few different systems and sometimes there will be tweaks during the testing to see if minor changes can help improve the queue. Because things are changing on the ground we won’t be able to share the layouts, BUT we’d love to hear your suggestions! You can share them with us here on the blog, or with one of our friendly yellow-vested staff members that’s running the study at Commercial–Broadway Station.
I think this should also be applied to the 99 B line’s eastbound Cambie St bus stop. Yesterday afternoon the passenger queue stretched into the Canada Line station, almost to the fare gates.
It’s awkward pass by the queues when you walk to the grocery store, businesses, #9 stop, and further east.
Why not use the strip of vacant land between the Canada Line station and neighbouring building to accommodate queues?
Hi Julien! Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll pass it on to the folks that are running the study at Commercial–Broadway Station.
It’s nice to hear this bus stop is being looked at. If I’ve noticed anything over the past few years, it’s that the peak hours are when it actually seems the most organized. Take the 99 at any other time and people don’t even bother lining up (fine by me, I know the exact spot to stand to get the door).
Now, the flip side… I assume this happens on the 99 because it most definitely happens at either terminus of the 145 with all door loading – operators who are too impatient to wait for the coach in front to finish loading and simply pull up behind and open their doors.
The mass chaos of what was a somewhat organized queue as people go scrambling for the second bus. That annoys me even more than queue jumpers. Could you please crack down on this behaviour as well?
Hey Matt! Operators are supposed to wait for the bus ahead of them to finish loading, and most do, but sometimes they don’t and I get how that could be frustrating. I’ve shared your comment with our operations group, but if you see this happen you can call Customer Service (604-953-3333) with the bus number and we’ll follow up.
Has TransLink looked into using double articulated buses to overcome the “maximum saturation” problem with the Broadway corridor?
How about using stanchions to force people to adopt a more “British” style of queuing?
Are wheelchairs and strollers permitted to cut the line? Why? Shouldn’t people with these only get priority once they get onto the bus? Within reason, mind you.
Could priority boarding be considered for UBC or other long distance travellers? Why not reserve the back of the bus for these people so less shuffling has to take place at each stop.
And bringing back the 99 express in some revised form would be something to look at too. If you guys can fill an entire bus with UBC bound travellers at Broadway, then why not do it and better yet, run the route along 12th and 16th Avenues straight to UBC?
Hi Cliff – The study tested different queuing methods with temporary barriers including ‘switchbacks’. The results of the study will be incorporated into the design of shelter and queuing area.
Passengers with scooters, wheelchairs or strollers are asked to board first at the front of the bus because they require extra room for boarding and there are limited spaces on the bus for their equipment.
Thanks for your other suggestions! I’ve passed them on to our planning folks.
No matter how many times I read it, it never gets old. You definitely hit the nail on the head on this one. This is something people need to know about. Your blog is really incredible and the design is really top notch.
Hi queue management! Thanks for your kind words :)