Chilliwack Transit System route 66 'Fraser Valley Express'

66	Fraser Valley Express
Chilliwack Transit System
Nova Bus LFS 9447 operating on route 66 at McCallum Park & Ride
Route type		Express
Service area		Abbotsford, Burnaby, Chilliwack, Langley
Service span		Daily
Vehicles		Nova Bus LFS
Branches		66 Fraser Valley Express      To Chilliwack 66 Fraser Valley Express      To Lougheed Station

66 Fraser Valley Express is a route operated by Chilliwack Transit System. It connects the cities of Chilliwack and Abbotsford in the Fraser Valley and Burnaby and Langley in Metro Vancouver, where connections are available to TransLink.

Route Details

This is an east-west regional express route connecting the Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver running primarily along the Trans-Canada Highway. The Fraser Valley Express runs between Burnaby in Metro Vancouver and Chilliwack in the Fraser Valley and is one of the few BC Transit services that connect directly with the TransLink network. Service runs daily approximately every hour, with service running approximately every 30 minutes during peak hours. Weekend and holiday service runs every hour and 15 minutes to every 90 minutes.

Eastbound trips depart from Lougheed Station heading west on Gatineau Place, south on Austin Road becoming Government Street and onto the Highway 1 bus-only on-ramp where it heads east on Highway 1 until the 202 Street exit, where it heads south on 202 Street to Carvolth Exchange. Continuing from Carvolth Exchange, trips head north on 202 Street, east on the HOV lane access onto Highway 1 heading east, then taking the Fraser Highway exit heading east on Fraser Highway, north on Mt. Lehman Rd, east on Cardinal Avenue, and west on Highstreet Access Road to the Highstreet Shopping Centre. Continuing from Highstreet, trips head south on Mt. Lehman Road, east on Fraser Highway, merging back onto Highway 1 heading east until the McCallum Road exit, where trips head east on King Connector into the McCallum Park and Ride. Continuing from the McCallum Park and Ride, trips head north on McCallum Road and back onto Highway 1 heading east until the Lickman Road exit where trips head north on Lickman, east on Yale Road, south on Evans Road, east on Knight Road, north on Vedder Road becoming Yale Road, and east on Spadina Avenue to the Downtown Exchange at Spadina & Yale.

Westbound trips depart from the Downtown Exchange at Spadina Avenue & Yale Road heading east on Spadina Avenue, south on First Avenue, west on Cheam Avenue, south on Yale Road becoming Vedder Road, west on Luckakuck Way, south on Topaz Drive, west on Knight Road, north on Evans Road, west on Yale Road, south on Lickman Road, west on Highway 1 until the McCallum Road exit, where trips head south on McCallum Road and east on King Connector into the McCallum Park and Ride. Continuing from the McCallum Park and Ride, trips head north on McCallum Road, west on Highway 1 until the Fraser Highway exit, where trips head west on Fraser Highway, north on Mt. Lehman Rd, east on Cardinal Avenue and west on Highstreet Access Road to the Highstreet Shopping Centre. Continuing from Highstreet, trips merge back onto Highway 1 and continue west until the 202 Street HOV exit, where trips head south on 202 Street and into Carvolth Exchange. Continuing from Carvolth Exchange, trips head north on 202 Street and west on Highway 1 using the HOV on-ramp where it continues heading west until the Government Street bus-access off-ramp where it heads north on Government Street becoming Austin Road and east on Gatineau Place to Lougheed Station.

66 Fraser Valley Express Stops

Pick-up and drop-off service at all stops except Carvolth Exchange. At Carvolth Exchange, eastbound trips are pick-up only and westbound trips are drop-off only.

Stop Locale Service Area Bus Connections Notes Downtown Chilliwack Yale & Spadina Chilliwack Chilliwack Transit System 51 52 53 57 59 71 Vedder & Luckakuck 51 Lickman Park and Ride 59 McCallum Park and Ride Abbotsford Central Fraser Valley Transit System 1 12 Highstreet Mall 1 2 Carvolth Exchange Langley TransLink 388 501 509 555 562 595 Westbound trips: Drop-off only Eastbound trips: Pick-up only Lougheed Station Burnaby 101 109 110 136 152 156 157 180 555 N9 Stop introduced on March 27, 2022

Points of Interest

• Lougheed Town Centre Station (Bay 1)
• Lougheed Town Centre
• Keswick Park
• Carvolth Exchange (Bay 13)
• Highstreet Shopping Centre
• McCallum Park and Ride
• Lickman Park and Ride
• Cottonwood Shopping Centre
• Chilliwack Museum
• Chilliwack Library
• Salish Park
• Downtown Exchange (Bay B)

Fares

The Fraser Valley Express has a flat-rate for all passengers regardless of distance travelled. No transfers are issued and transfers from other BC Transit services are not accepted. TransLink fare products are also not accepted on the Fraser Valley Express.

Children 12 and under ride free. Full-time students up to Grade 12 and seniors 65 or over with valid I.D. are eligible for the reduced Monthly Pass rate.

Cash	Tickets (10)	Monthly Pass
$5.00	$45.00	Adult: $100.00 Student/Senior: $85.00

History

• October 2013 - Fraser Valley Regional District approves new express bus route connecting downtown Chilliwack and Carvolth Exchange
• January 2014 - After Abbotsford defeats the previous approval made in October 2014, the city re-establishes approval of the express bus route.
• April 6, 2015 - Route begins operation, running between Carvolth Exchange and Chilliwack with free service on the first day.
• September 3, 2017 - Sunday/holiday service introduced.
• May 2019 - Service proposed to be extended from Carvolth Exchange to Lougheed Station in Burnaby by January 2021
• April 2020 - Extension to Lougheed Station deferred to January 2022 due to financial and ridership reasons associated with the COVID-19 pandemic
• September 2020 - Widening of the Trans Canada Highway in Langley results in re-route through newly-opened HOV exits off 202 Street.
• June–July 2021 - Public consultations take place for extended the service to Lougheed Station, with results due in August and schedules publicized in December
• November 2021 - Extension to Lougheed Station delayed again due to a bus driver shortage and the launch date pushed to March 2022
• March 3, 2022 - Westward extension to Lougheed Station launch date announced for March 27, 2022. Additional Saturday service deferred as service hours went towards adding running time. Other service changes to the 66 FVX announced include:
  • Two additional round-trips on Saturdays, including a later departure time towards Chilliwack and an earlier start heading towards Metro Vancouver
  • New weekday round-trip in the mid-afternoon
  • New weekday early morning trip starting from Chilliwack at 4:40 a.m. towards Lougheed Station, arriving at 6:11 a.m.
  • More running time to address traffic congestion problems on Highway 1
• March 27, 2022 - Service extended west from Carvolth Exchange to Lougheed Station. Weekday off-peak service increased from every 60–90 minutes to every hour. Introduction of stopping procedures at Carvolth Exchange
• Spring 2023 - Service suspended owing to BC Transit Fraser Valley strike involving CFV and Chilliwack Transit Systems.
• September 5, 2023 - Short-turn trips between Lougheed Station and McCallum Park & Ride introduced during peak hours

Service during the November 2021 floods

Due to significant flooding throughout the Fraser Valley and the closure of the Trans-Canada Highway, there was no service between Abbotsford and Chilliwack throughout mid-to-late November 2021. Service ran between Carvolth Exchange and McCallum Park & Ride via Highstreet Mall only until floodwaters receded. There were short periods when full service resumed, but the full restoration of service was not until December.

Background

Significant flooding brought by heavy rain caused by an atmospheric river in the Pacific Northwest in November 2021 severely impacted service on the 66 Fraser Valley Express. The weather system severely impacted various transportation corridors in the Fraser Valley. Heavy rainfall began on November 14 and by November 16, severe flooding throughout southern British Columbia and northern Washington began.

The 66 FVX travels primarily along the Trans-Canada Highway, which also cuts through the Sumas Prairie. The Sumas Prairie area was created in the 1920s by draining Sumas Lake. But by November 16, nearby Sumas and Nooksack rivers overflowed and began to refill Sumas Lake, washing out the highway. Other road corridors in the Fraser Valley, such as Highway 7, were also closed due to mudslides. All transit services in both the Central Fraser Valley Transit System and Chilliwack Transit System were severely impacted and delayed due to the flooding.

Timeline

Throughout the floods, service was suspended between Abbotsford and Chilliwack, with full service restored temporarily for three days before floodwaters returned. Initially, the 66 FVX ran two services: one between Langley and Abbotsford and one between Downtown Chilliwack and the Lickman Park & Ride on the western edge of Chilliwack. This was revised the following day to have the 66 FVX run between Langley and Abbotsford only.

Below is a timeline of the changes and development of the 66 FXV service during the flooding.

• November 16: Service revised to run between Carvolth Exchange–McCallum Park & Ride via Highstreet Mall and Lickman Park & Ride–Downtown Chilliwack
• November 17: Chilliwack service temporarily suspended. Service revised to run between Carvolth Exchange–McCallum Park & Ride via Highstreet Mall only. Operations temporarily transferred to Central Fraser Valley and trips continued running with Chilliwack-based Nova Bus LFS units, with some trips using New Flyer XN40 units when needed
• November 25: Normal operations resumed following the reopening of the Trans-Canada Highway as floodwaters receded enough for the highway to open. Passengers were advised to expect delays due to traffic and lowered speed limits on the highway
• November 28: Service between Chilliwack and Abbotsford suspended again until further notice due to the potential return of floodwaters following significant rainfall on November 27–28 and the installation of a Tiger Dam by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, the Canadian Armed Forces and the City of Abbotsford across the Trans-Canada Highway to divert floodwaters from the Sumas River to the Barrowtown Pump Station. The flooding risk and Tiger Dam installation prompted the sudden closure of the Trans-Canada Highway. Service revised to run between Carvolth Exchange and McCallum Park & Ride via Highstreet Mall. Trips were operated using mostly Central Fraser Valley units
• December 2: Regular service restored following the reopening of the Trans-Canada Highway