Thank you to our customers for choosing us to get around in 2017!

In 2017, ridership in Metro Vancouver reached a record-breaking 407 million boardings! That’s a 5.7 per cent increase over 2016.

Not only that, the number of journeys in the system reached 247 million—another record and 5.8 per cent increase over the year before!

Ridership grew across all modes except West Coast Express, which experienced a drop of 5.5 per cent, as some customers found the new Evergreen Extension more convenient for their needs. On HandyDART, 1.25 million trips were provided in 2017, up 2 per cent from the year before.

This growth demonstrates how investments like the Evergreen Extension and the significant boost to transit service as part of the Mayors’ 10-Year Vision is continuing to make transit the preferred option for more people in the region. Weekday transit ridership in the Tri-Cities increased more than 25 per cent by the end of 2017, in large part due to the opening of the Evergreen Extension.

“The opening of the Evergreen Extension just over a year ago has been a game-changer for our community,” says Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart. “This continued investment in public transit, as an option for residents and commuters, is vital to maintaining the livability of the region.”

Metro Vancouver’s sustained investments in rapid transit over the last 30 years – including the Millennium and Canada lines – have created a record of ridership increases that are without peer in Canada. No major urban centre has seen as great a shift in people choosing transit as their mode of choice.

“Past investments in transit infrastructure are paying dividends as we see the record-breaking ridership and the rapid growth in transit as the preferred option for commuters,” says TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond.

“It’s a great trajectory, and with demand for transit still running high, it’s imperative that we continue investing and adding service, so we can deliver service that is reliable, convenient and reduces crowding for our customers.”

The significant ridership boost is also driven partly by the growth of economic activity in Metro Vancouver, which was Canada’s fastest-growing metropolitan economy in 2017 and is experiencing its lowest unemployment rates since the 2007-2008 economic down turn.

“It is encouraging to see regional transit usage continue to rise,” says Richard Walton, District of North Vancouver mayor and vice-chair of the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation. “Better transit builds stronger and more resilient communities.”

Advancing projects like the Broadway Extension and the Surrey LRT in timely fashion will be crucial in order to maintain our region’s track record of livability and prosperity.

Definitions

Boardings: A Boarding represents each time a passenger enters a fare paid zone using Compass fare media or other proof of payment. Transfers are counted as additional boardings.

Journeys: A Journey is considered to be a complete transit trip using Compass or other proof of payment, regardless of the number of transfers.