Where Has The Ridership Gone?
TransLink- Metro Vancouver & BC Transit -Greater Victoria ridership 2025
According to statistics Canada TransLink ridership,
in 2025 was 235.12 M journeys
vs 2024 239.36 M journeys ( 3.1 % less )
Where has the ridership gone?
We have now invested, including the current $16 billion, full program, to extend the Expo and millennium lines a mere 21.7 km, is over $30 billion, ridership is decreasing at an alarming rate.
Why?
I don’t have the answer but I would guess it is the transit system itself and decades of politcal interference where trying to design a transit system to please every one, in fact has pleased no one!
User-friendliness is the keyword describing a successful public transit system, but Translink and the service it provides is far from being user-friendly.
When SkyTrain was first imposed on the GVRD, now metro Vancouver, downtown Vancouver was the main destination for many transit customers, but in 2026, there are many main transit destinations but with the bus services designed to feed the light-metro system, many of the new customer destinations are near impossible to timely access by transit and taking the car is just so much easier.
A good example was just last Saturday, where a scheduled bus failed to show and began an 2 hour ordeal to get from Vancouver to Tsawwassen. Taking the car would be just 30 minutes.
Lack of any customer care by TransLink and senior management means ridership will further decline until there is a complete change in direction by TransLink, the mayor’s council on Transit and the Premier’s Office.
What we’re seeing all across Canada is fewer Canadians using public transit. Canadians don’t want to ride on public transit with the far too many migrants who are misbehaved, ignorant and smelly. This might not be nice to hear but the truth isn’t always pleasant. Read the comments by thousands of Canadians in the related discussion if you have any doubts:
https://youtu.be/_T2xizt2BaM?t=1793
Zwei replies: I disagree, they maybe your reasons for not using transit but they are not the reasons in Vancouver. What attracts people to transit is defined as user-friendliness and encompasses a variety of issues.
With the permission granted by recent statements about migrants/immigrants by Daniele Smith and Pierre Pollieve the racists crawl out from under their rocks…
Zwei replies: For once I heartily agree with you. I published the comment strictly to refute it (maybe not strong enough) and I have censored many comments of the same ilk, this one was printable, many are not. In fact public transport is the only transportation mode for the very people she mentioned.
Just to let everyone know, I had a coffee with a few transit types in my local last week and why I posted this. We do not know the reasons for continued drop in ridership and TransLink’s managers are at their wit’s end trying to figure it out. The consensus was that despite the hype and hoopla by Translink/Government, the transit system is not attracting new customers and loosing many long time ones.
The failure of TransLink and the mayor’s council on transit to actually listen to the public about transit instead of trying (praying) that the new BRT (Lite) services will increase ridership. Again the consensus was that they will not as BRT is seen as far too little, far too late.
I was not alone suggesting that someone in management should have the courage to say “we are doing it all wrong”, but that would be career suicide.
There was a lot more said but due to privacy issues, best no print them, but I can say there is a growing panic within TransLink, combined by the general political ignorance about public transit, that the system itself may initiate a collapse (evidently the minister in charge of transit, still thinks SkyTrain is cheap, no almost free to operate, despite the contrary being true). The dreadful Horseshoe Bay accident and death maybe the catalyst or reality check for the provincial NDP.
Here in Ottawa, the federal workers still only have to be in the office 3 days a week. They are now going to be forced to go back to 5 days a week because of dropping productivity and other inefficiencies of working at home. What’s interesting we have been able to get back to 71% of 2019 ridership with our largest cohort of workers only traveling 3 days out of 5 days a week. Considering the limitation of this on our numbers, were not doing too bad when these people make up such an enormous part of the total workforce.in Ottawa. Transit passenger levels as well as transit service hours have always gone in lock step with the number of federal workers employed here.
Memo from Zwie: Gwen, this is a transportation blog and not for rants against immigrants, etc.
We will agree to disagree.
Where Has The Ridership Gone? Ridership recording go to work stable. Out for entertainment down from sporting events, movies and community events. Add less international students. There’s still a stick mark around using a bus.
Mr zwei
Richmond transit center responsible for operating 601. Backlog of makemons and new training bus operators. Double-deckers that are supposed to be on the road have more downtime than expected. And the delays to replace older buses are just longer. Little to no spare buses to fill a scheduled service.
The rapid bus program is BRT light or full BRT services?
Avoiding reducing capacity for general traffic. If a proposal to remove the general capacity like R7, the program will exist. Cities are looking to leverage program to upgrade roads and add bus lanes as a compromise. Like an active transportation program to improve sidewalks. Both of these programs redesign intersections for better vehicle flow with more visible pedestrian markings.
On the upside R6 and buses on Scott Road are more predictable, reliable and faster. Ridership on Scott road bus routes has gone up. Or 323 bus more space and frequency making busy bus.
Skytrain vs car travel time 1 – 1.1 X
Bus vs car travel time 1.5 – 3.5 X
Need bus improvements with infrastructure and priority.
Mr haveacow
WCE ridership relies on office workers.
2019 10,400
2024 6,200 60%
2025 idk numbers won’t be out until may?
Zwei replies: What Translink calls BRT is what is more commonly called BRT Lite or in the local vernacular an enhanced B-99 service. BRT is deemed more politically important for getting votes. Real BRT costs only a little less than LRT to build and the budget for the BRT lines is a fraction of that if real BRT were to be built.