Amanda doesn’t own a car, so she relies on public transit and walking to get her where she needs to go everyday. In her words, she takes transit “pretty much every day, several times a day.”

On a regular weekday morning, she takes the 22 Knight from her home in Kitsilano to Burrard Station to catch the 135 to Simon Fraser University, where she works.

To get home in the evening, she takes either the 144 to Sperling-Burnaby Lake Station or the 145 to Production Way-University Station before hopping on the Millennium Line to VCC-Clark Station and then the 84 to get home — taking her on a relaxing loop of Vancouver and Burnaby.

“I really appreciate being able to commute to work by bus and read or listen to music while watching the scenery go by,” she says.”It’s really fun to people watch. There’s always such interesting and diverse cross-sections of Vancouver life on the bus or SkyTrain, and I love seeing who gets on next.”

As part of the fall service changes that began on September 1, new trips were added to the 135 and 143 to reduce overcrowding, and regular service on the 145 returns. This means that weekday frequency on the 135 has increased, operating every 12 minutes between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. The 143 now operates every ten minutes during the AM/PM peak periods, every 15 minutes from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and evening service has been extended to 9:52 p.m. On the 145 all weekday trips in the midday and AM/PM peak periods return to regular service from 7:50 to 11:30 a.m. and 3:40 to 7 p.m.

Amanda says the increased service to SFU will mean a lot for her and other commuters, especially on the 135.

“I use the 135 to commute to work, so increasing service is a very good thing,” she says. “Especially during the fall semester at SFU, that’s when the 135 is really crowded. The more buses that can run, the less time people are left at bus stops because the buses are too packed.”

TransLink undertakes a round of service changes four times a year in April, June, September, and December. These changes improve schedules and routes, ensuring a reliable, efficient and safe transit service to help get you where you need to go.

To learn more about the fall service changes and to find the schedules for the 135, 143, and 145, click here.

Author: Allen Tung