RapidBus service to be completed beside KPU by 2023
The bus route is projected to improve one of Metro Vancouver’s busiest bus routes
TransLink is preparing to introduce a new RapidBus service by KPU Surrey in 2023. (Wikimedia Commons)
TransLink began the process to implement the R6 Scott Road RapidBus as part of their Mayors’ 10-Year Vision for Surrey and Delta to improve public transportation.
The Scott Road RapidBus is anticipated to be launched in late 2023, and was created as another accessible option for users to experience shorter travel times. The proposed upgrades include larger buses, more frequent service, improvements to bus stops, and a new separate lane for buses to use.
The 319 route will remain active for commuters, especially to individuals who travel to and from Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Surrey campus.
Brent Elliott, the director of planning and sustainability at KPU, says the university is excited about the project and what it will do for students, faculty, and staff who travel along the Scott Road corridor to get to and from the Surrey campus.
“One thing you may not know about is that we have been working closely with TransLink to move the existing 319 stop to be a more central location, more visible location, more accessible location in front of our front door at KPU Surrey,” says Elliott.
The project aims to be an improvement for commuters who frequently use the 319 bus route, which was TransLink’s seventh busiest bus route overall, and the busiest bus route south of the Fraser in 2019.
“Surrey riders have already benefited from previous RapidBus expansions on busy corridors and I have no doubt that additional routes, like this one for Scott Road, will be welcomed in our city,” said Surrey mayor Doug McCallum in a released statement.
TransLink is also proposing plenty of upgrades to bus stops along the corridor, with plans ranging from bigger sidewalks for both riders and pedestrians, adding bus stops and lighting to provide a better experience for riders. Bike racks are also being proposed for cyclists who travel along Scott Road. There are also opportunities given by TransLink to include public artwork at these stops to “further enhance the experience of using the route.”
This will also include additional lanes for the RapidBus to use, and changing the area of the corridor at Scott Road and 72nd Avenue by removing the left-in lanes southbound and placing a new mid-street island stop for riders to get easier and safer access to the RapidBus at the 72nd Avenue stop.
“[This] will be a new pedestrian signal that will help students, faculty, and staff travelling across 72nd Avenue, and again with a more of a front door to KPU Surrey campus,” says Elliott.
Some of the proposed improvements by TransLink include signal priority, intersection queue jumps, better safety, and improving customer quality at bus stops.
Signal priority and queue jumps at intersections will assist in moving riders, who account for a significant percentage of people travelling on 72nd ave, faster to their destinations. TransLink projects the new RapidBus route to be about 20 per cent faster compared to the 319.
TransLink has also mentioned that the project will benefit 12 other routes that travel along the Scott Road corridor as well such as the 301 and the 322.
