TransLink Data Reveals Bus Ridership Leading the Return to Transit

New data from TransLink shows bus ridership is recovering faster than all other transit modes, according to the agency's press release. 

The Transit Service Performance Review (TSPR) details TransLink’s 2021 ridership and reveals that bus ridership bounced back strongest of all transit modes, reaching 62% of pre-pandemic levels by the end of last year.

Bus ridership recovery outpaced HandyDART (59%), SkyTrain’s Expo and Millennium Lines (57%), the Canada Line and SeaBus (both at 54%), and the West Coast Express (26%). Since then, bus ridership recovery has grown to 71% in May of 2022.

With overall system-wide ridership recovery at 59% at the end of 2021, TransLink exceeded the average recovery rate of transit systems in Montreal, Toronto, Washington D.C., Chicago, and San Francisco. System-wide ridership has continued to grow and is currently at 70% of pre-pandemic levels.

“It’s gratifying to see the commitment to transit by the people of Metro Vancouver over the last two difficult years,” said Kevin Quinn, TransLink CEO. “Transit has long been at the centre of our communities and will continue to be imperative to Metro Vancouver life, economic growth, and tourism.”