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TransLink boosts Surrey-area bus frequency

Service rejig comes through cuts to underused Metro Vancouver routes
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Some bus routes in Surrey and Langley will run more frequently starting Sept. 3.

TransLink's latest shuffle of its bus service will see more frequent runs on heavily used routes in Surrey and Langley.

The transportation authority is continuing its "service optimization" strategy that pulls resources from underused routes and adds it in areas where planners think more riders can be served, and more fare revenue can be pulled in.

"The majority of the increases are going into the Surrey/Langley area and also up to SFU in Burnaby," spokesman Drew Snider said.

He cited growing demand south of the Fraser and said TransLink has tried to avoid making major service sacrifices elsewhere.

"So far we've been able to keep those reductions to things like weekends, late nights and early weekend mornings where quite frankly it was underused," he said. "It just didn't make sense to have a bus driving around at those times that often."

As of Sept. 3, the #345 White Rock Centre-King George Station bus will run every 20 minutes in the weekday morning peak, instead of every 30.

The #395 King George-Willowbrook will run every 12 minutes in mornings (instead of 15) and every 20 minutes (instead of 30) in afternoons, and all trips will start from 200 Street and 64 Avenue instead of running a shorter route.

The #640 Scott Road Station-Ladner Exchange community shuttle gets upgraded to a full-size bus on Saturday evenings, Sundays and holidays.

And the #501 Surrey Central-Langley Centre will run more often Saturday afternoons.

Buses to SFU's main campus will also run more often – the #143 from Coquitlam Station will run every 12 minutes eastbound in the afternoon peak, the #145 to Production Way Station will also run every 12 minutes southbound from 4 to 9 p.m. and the #135 from Burrard Station boosts its Saturday night frequency.

One of the service cuts will see the #595 that goes from Langley Centre over the Golden Ears Bridge to Maple Ridge run a shorter route that terminates at Maple Meadows Station. Riders used to going all the way to Haney Place Mall will now have to transfer.

Full details are at www.translink.ca/servicechanges.

TransLink says service optimization helped it boost bus productivity 3.1 per cent last year and provide 5.6 per cent more rides than in 2010.