FlyingPig

At least 4 sets of 4-car Mark 1s on the Millenium Line today which I saw. Pictures of a few: Apologies in advance for pretty trash quality lmao, most of these were in moving trains or while running for a bus

Not in any year of geography, so with due respect to any experience you have, my response: 1. Having weak ridership bases I assume this means Cloverdale. I would say that Cloverdale is, especially in peak hours, an area with quite some demand. From a 2016 TSPR report, the #395, whose customers are almost exclusively from Cloverdale and Clayton (along 64th, as Fraser Hwy commuters would likely choose a more frequent 502), averaged some 700 passengers daily. With other services running through the area, I would argue that the number of commuters from Cloverdale likely hovers at a number that is even higher. With such demand, I would say that a 25-minute bus ride straight to Scott Road would be preferable for the majority of these riders. But even if such a place has low ridership, I still think that peak trips do the job admirably. Translink should be providing new options for people to say "perhaps I can not drive today, and still get to work in a reasonable amount of time". That increases ridership, rather than keeping it stagnant because the only option is a bus that takes 40 minutes just to get to Surrey Central. I think that having buses straight from the suburbs to rapid transit is also a precursor to transit-oriented development. That looks like Carvolth-area housing developments advertising a "555 express bus straight to the Skytrain". I imagine that such encouragement to use transit would exist symmetrically in Cloverdale if the message read something like "333 express bus straight to the Skytrain". 2. Using major roads that can have delays The SFPR is not your average Massey Tunnel. There have not been any delays to speak of along this route. The majority of traffic is truckers leaving ports and intermodal terminals - not rushed commuters driving home. 3. Indirect routing Yes, this route is indirect in terms of mileage. However, it is not indirect in terms of time. Any trip down Fraser Highway is plagued by traffic, red lights, and even one-lane sections in Green Timbers. A trip by Skytrain/503 to Clayton is a good 50 minutes if you're lucky - the drive down the SFPR, with no stops in the middle of farmland, takes a comparatively short 25. Perhaps when the Skytrain opens on Fraser Highway the need for this route will be mitigated. Until then, we have a 4-5 year period with long commutes for all. As such, the routings to Langley Center and Carvolth are not as indirect as they seem. ------------------------- My own thoughts about the debacle of frequent hub-to-hub transport I would say that routes that connect to a rapid transit option very quickly along major roads (like the SFPR) are part of the convenience that the bus should bring to riders. This is basically what NJ Transit does - run routes right into the center of NYC from individual, small neighbourhoods in NJ. Granted, the population is higher, but the same principle can be applied to the majority of downtown Vancouver commuters as well. They would likely wait longer for a one-seat ride than spend time transferring through hubs no matter how frequent this service could be. If the Skytrain departed every 15 seconds but I had to get off at each station to catch another train to the next, I would much rather wait 20 minutes for one that takes me all the way to the end. Convenience will largely outweigh other aspects for most commuters, which is why trips like the 509 exist rather than having people go for a more frequent 501->562. Anyways thanks for reading this long spiel. I'm no urban planner but I do have some thoughts here and there on how we can expand transit and incentivise more people to ride.

Still surprised TransLink hasn't tried to institute any service (even peak-hour peak-direction trips) on the eastern half of the South Fraser Perimeter Road. We could be seeing: Scott Road Stn - Bridgeview - Hwy 17 - Hwy 15 - Cloverdale Scott Road Stn - Bridgeview - Hwy 17 - Hwy 15 - Hwy 1 - Carvolth and Walnut Grove Scott Road Stn - Bridgeview - Hwy 17 - Hwy 15 - Fraser Hwy - Langley Center From experience there's never been any congestion on the SFPR; if anything, the Cloverdale option would shave a LOT of time off of existing 320 and 395 options, and the speed of these two highways with no stops would speed up commutes to all three destinations.

7455 on the 310 - another conventional today

Late reply, but there were, saw 19113 on the 337. They cancelled most of the trips all day Sunday (down to 1 or 2 per hour from 4) and put in a conventional to keep up with loads.

No idea what the difference is between the two but please tell me the destination signs will be an improvement over the practically unreadable half-inch tall displays we have now

Not the D40LF exactly, but Urbanized recently reported that there would be which is the number of D40LFRs we have. Can't confirm a source but here's a potential date.

The inbound 10 would be exponentially improved with "Granville to Downtown". They could also change the signs of the 323 and 324 for uniformity.

It's for KPU. Red/crimson in color.

Isn't 351 service to Crescent already every 30 minutes? Last I checked every second trip terminated at WRC. If frequency on the 350 is indeed halved off peak then you have hourly service.

Possibly but probably not. There's no paint, and the windows aren't black like most Vicinity units. The roof units are large, tall, and in front - not a Vicinity.

Passed by the Cullen in Port Kells today and noticed 4 completely white (no fleet numbers, decals, nothing) buses. From the rear lights, length, and the (battery?) pack on the roof, I'd say it's either a group of 35' BYD electrics or 35' Gillig electrics. Does anyone have a better idea or guess at what these buses are and who they're for? Really sorry I couldn't get a picture, I was on the highway.

delete

Along with the fact that a standard bus can only hold 15 passengers total.

The 501 no longer stops near the P&R (comes directly onto 104th from the highway) but the transit priority signs are still there. No one uses them anymore. The only way to access transit near the park and ride is to walk along a well-maintained sidewalk to the 158 St stop.