TransLink's 2018 performance review shows ridership strides

Last year, total ridership reached an all-time high for TransLink, while overcrowding remained a key issue, according to a 2018 Transit Service Performance Review (TSPR).

The annual TSPR measures the agency's ridership, cost, reliability, on-time performance and crowding across all transit modes. TransLink uses the review's findings to identify service improvement opportunities.

The 2018 TSPR's key findings show total boardings climbed 7.1 percent systemwide, the biggest-ever year-over-year increase, TransLink officials said in a press release. SkyTrain boardings rose 5.7 percent and West Coast Express commuter-rail boardings shot up 7 percent. The three busiest SkyTrain stations last year were the Waterfront, Metrotown and Commercial-Broadway stations, which each exceeded 8 million boardings.

"The TSPR helps us measure where more service is urgently needed to keep the system reliable and efficient," TransLink officials said. "We've identified 52 routes with overcrowding and are adding service hours to 32 of them before July."

Some of the actions TransLink is taking to address overcrowding include adding 56 cars to the Expo/Millennium Line and 24 cars to the Canada Line to increase capacity.

"We want the public to see the numbers for themselves and understand where we need to invest even more in transit services," said TransLink Chief Executive Officer Kevin Desmond. "Thanks to the support of the region's mayors, the province of British Columbia and the federal government, we are investing more than ever to accommodate the growing number of customers who rely on our system every single day."