SUPPORTS ITEM NO. 1
P&E COMMITTEE AGENDA
SEPTEMBER 12, 1996
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: August 28, 1996
File No. 650 184
650 182
TO: Standing Committee on Planning & Environment
FROM: General Manager of Engineering Services
SUBJECT: Broadway Express Service - "99 B-Line"
RECOMMENDATIONS
A. THAT the use of buses on 12th Avenue between Granville and
Fir Streets, and Fir Street between 12th Avenue and 10th
Avenue, be approved.
B. THAT a bus stop on southbound Granville Street at 10th Avenue
in the AM peak period only, be approved.
C. THAT the approval for recommendations "A" and "B" above, be
reviewed once express buses can be routed on 10th Avenue
after it is improved between Granville and Fir Streets.
D. THAT a bus stop on westbound Lougheed Highway at Boundary
Road be approved.
E. THAT BC Transit be requested to provide additional express
bus stops on Broadway at Renfrew Street and Clark Drive, and
on 10th Avenue in the vicinity of Blanca Street.
F. THAT BC Transit conduct appropriate consultation processes in
future with affected communities along new transit routes or
facilities (e.g. Richmond/Vancouver Rapid Bus and Broadway
LRT).
COUNCIL POLICY
Transport 2021 provides a high priority for public transit, and
specifies express bus routes along a number of major corridors,
including Broadway.
That the planned new express services on Granville and Broadway be
implemented as soon as possible (reaffirmed by Council on February 22,
1996).
Council owns the streets and regulates their use for BC Transit buses
and bus stop locations.
SUMMARY
BC Transit's new "#99 B-Line" express service on the Broadway Lougheed
corridor between Lougheed Mall and UBC started operation on September
3, 1996. The service has been requested by the City for some time and
provides a valuable east-west regional transit link, in the interim
before LRT is introduced.
PURPOSE
This report discusses the new Broadway/Lougheed transit express
service, and recommends new bus stops and a short turn route.
BACKGROUND
The Broadway bus carries more transit passengers than any other bus
route in the region. In fact, it has a higher ridership than most LRT
lines in the United States, including the Portland system.
In response to growing concerns about the effectiveness of transit on
this corridor, the Broadway Task Force was formed in mid-1993 to review
options for enhancing the service. The Task Force recommended a number
of actions including a new express service along Broadway between UBC
and Lougheed Mall, with limited stops at key transfer points.
Council has strongly supported a Broadway express service and has
communicated this through recommendations to BC Transit on the Annual
Transit Service Plans. On February 22, 1996, staff reported to Council
on the 1996/1997 Transit Service Plan and noted that it included
introducing a Broadway Express Service. The service design details
were unknown then and have only recently been made available to the
City. With this information, staff worked quickly with BC Transit to
implement the bus stop changes necessary to accommodate the service
startup on September 3, 1996.
There has been little public process regarding the route due to the
expedited installation schedule. On July 25, 1996 The Vancouver Traffic
Commission resolved: "That the Vancouver Traffic Commission contact the
BC Transit Commission to advise that the VTC is highly disappointed BC
Transit does not appear to have conducted an appropriate consultation
process with affected communities in terms of location of stops and
types of buses being used along the Broadway express route." This
report recommends that BC Transit be reminded that appropriate
consultative processes are required for future new major transit
initiatives (e.g. Richmond/Vancouver Rapid Bus and Broadway LRT).
THE #99 BROADWAY EXPRESS SERVICE ("99 B-LINE")
The express service route and stops are shown in Appendix A. The
service uses articulated, wheelchair accessible diesel buses and
operates Monday to Saturday, between 6 AM and 7 PM. Service frequency
is generally every 10 minutes throughout the day between UBC and
Broadway Station, and every 15 minutes between Broadway Station and
Lougheed Mall. BC Transit will be running extra buses between
Granville Street and Broadway Station in the peak periods in order to
have a higher frequency (every 7-8 minutes) in this busier section of
the route.
In the future, it is intended to expand the hours of service of the
route to include Sundays. As well, BC Transit indicate the number of
stops may be expanded if sufficient demand exists and if travel times
can be maintained. From a City perspective there are advantages in
giving more residents access to the new service as soon as possible.
Therefore, it is recommended that stops be added on Broadway at Renfrew
Street and Clark Drive, and on 10th Avenue in the vicinity of Blanca
Street.
IMPACT ON OTHER SERVICES ON BROADWAY
A number of changes will be made to other local services on Broadway.
The present #31 Broadway Station To UBC Express will be replaced by the
new service. As well, the local #9 Broadway Service will be reduced in
frequency from every 5 minutes to every 6 minutes in the midday and
from every 3 minutes to every 4 minutes in the peak periods.
MARKET RESEARCH ON THE NEW EXPRESS SERVICE
BC Transit market research prior to service startup indicated the
following:
- Up to 25% of present users of other services on Broadway could
switch to the new express service.
- Up to 20% of the regional residents who frequently travel by car
could use the line if it met their needs.
- The majority of present and potential customers are satisfied with
the number and location of the stops.
If in fact the service proves to be as popular as the above research
indicates, BC Transit will have to provide additional buses before
crowding, pass-ups and other problems develop. This could involve
adjusting service levels on other routes. Staff will be monitoring BC
Transit's management of the new service, and the potential demand for
more stops and increased capacity, to assure that there is an increased
level of transit service for
Vancouver riders. Service to UBC is a particular concern as buses are
currently crowded and sometimes too full to pick up passengers at some
stops in the morning in the western part of the City. With the new
service, BC Transit will be increasing the capacity to UBC on the
Broadway corridor by about 15% but it is not clear that this will be
sufficient, in view of the higher demands in this corridor with the new
express service.
BUS STOP AND ROUTE CHANGES
Several changes were required in order to implement the service:
- Granville Short-Turn - The increased express bus frequency between
Broadway Station and Granville Street in the peak periods is
achieved by adding more buses to the service between these two
points. These extra buses have to be turned around at the end
points. At the Granville Street end, they are short-turned via
southbound Granville Street, westbound 12th Avenue and northbound
Fir Street to Broadway (see Appendix B). Recommendation A of this
report seeks Council approval for this route. The route can be
reviewed in future when 10th Avenue is improved as part of the
School Board site redevelopment (north of 10th Avenue between
Granville and Fir Streets). After 10th Avenue is improved, the
larger articulated buses could potentially travel via westbound
10th Avenue (which is already a short turn route) rather than 12th
Avenue, from Granville to Fir Street.
In addition, a new bus stop on southbound Granville Street south
of 10th Avenue, in the 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM time period only, has
been introduced (Recommendation B). This would also be reviewed
after 10th Avenue is improved.
- Bus Stop Adjustments - In general, the express bus stops are
located adjacent to existing local bus stops in order to minimize
parking losses and facilitate transfers between the services.
Affected businesses were advised in advance of the changes.
Only one new independent bus stop location was required -
westbound Lougheed Highway west of Boundary road, in front of the
Boundary Bus Loop (recommendation D).
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