The 160 bus: perfect for seniors

October 24, 2019

The 160 bus: perfect for seniors

October 24, 2019

The 160 Port Coquitlam Station / Kootenay Loop bus is one of the most versatile routes in TransLink’s entire network. It connects communities and municipalities from Burnaby all the way to Port Coquitlam, allowing riders to cross three zones with a single tap.

One group that finds the 160 particularly helpful in their day-to-day lives is seniors, so we decided to take a group out on an expedition along the bus route, so they could show us how they use the route and tell us a little bit about what transit means to them.

Anita Eriksen is a SHARE volunteer and a Seniors On The Move committee member. She uses the 160 regularly to help her get around the city and run errands.

“The 160 connects with everything,” Anita tells us. “I used it even before I gave up my car. It’s easy, it comes every 15 minutes. You can’t get better than that. For seniors, especially ones with fixed incomes, it’s so much cheaper.”

Due to personal experience, Anita is also a major advocate of helping seniors become more familiar and comfortable with using public transit. She’s seen friends and family members lose their ability to drive without an alternate mode of transportation, and now she coordinates expeditions to help seniors become more comfortable planning their trips, and resist the social isolation that can come with the loss of mobility.

Throughout the day on our expedition, ease and affordability was a topic of conversation. The folks we spoke to told us time and time again that taking transit is simply easier for them than driving and trying to find a place to park.

Doug Tearse disembarks from the 160 bus at Moody Centre Station to connect with the Millennium Line.

“It picks me up right across the street,” says Doug Tearse. “It’s faster than taking my truck, and the parking is easier.”

For Doug, the 160 Bus has become a vital part of his routine. He uses it to travel to and from important medical appointments and to his barber, Mary, who he’s been going to for 20 years.

Farideh Ghaffarzadeh shops for a pumpkin at Kensington Plaza in Burnaby.

Whether you’re like Doug, who has lived in the area for decades, or like Farideh Ghaffarzadeh, an Iranian immigrant who has never driven in Vancouver, TransLink is what connects people to their communities. Before using TransLink, Farideh says she was isolated by her inability to commute.

“Before, I didn’t know how to go around the city,” she says, “I’ve been at home most of the time. But now I take bus, or SkyTrain, or SeaBus, because I don’t drive. Transit gives me freedom and independence.”

The 160 Port Coquitlam Station / Kootenay Loop bus connects seniors to what they need most—convenience in pick-up and drop off, access to amenities and shopping, lower cost transportation, and the ability to meet with others in their community and on the bus.

For a limited time, we’re working with our partners along the route to offer special deals when you show your Compass Card or Bus Ticket. All of these offers are available between 9:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., until December 31, 2019. Five great reasons to explore the neighbourhoods along the 160 bus route!