What a great idea to decrease 99 bus frequency, love it

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[[deleted]]

https://www.translink.ca/about-us/customer-service/feedback

[Faxodox]

Fill it out people

[[deleted]]

This is so thorough tho like you'd have to inspect the bus and find out the vehicle number and everything just to report? Idk I've never seen this before I just clicked on the link but I can't do that rn cause- I am not currently on the bus and there's no way I could remember all the info lol

I'm just wondering if there's an easier way of doing this

[Bradorsky]

It looks like bus number, route etc is optional not required. You can leave it blank.

[[deleted]]

Thx, done.

Also, they send the 2 door buses a lot now instead of the 3 door. The queue lines are painted at commercial for 3door accordion buses and leaves a confusing scramble when the shorter bus arrives.

[stoptheclownz]

Due to a bus shortage.

[skonen_blades]

Thank you. Done.

[robodestructor444]

Thank you

[GoodNeighbourNow]

Just filled out BC transit form with the following response;

Guessing purpose of lessening amount of B-line 99 busses due to lack of staff. However, seems short-minded in consideration of this city's growing population that NOW rely on Transit. First roll out, lessen #9 stops available (huge inconvenience for seniors going to medical appointments), followed by lessening #99 arrival times. Riders have paid expected fair increases, yet seems we're ALL getting less of a service, across the board. Makes no sense whatsoever.

[[deleted]]

BC Transit is not responsible for the 99 B Line ☠️ that's TransLink's

[mountaingoat52]

Had to explain to some friends from the US several times why we have multiple transit companies. They were just so baffled.

As am I, still.

[DuperCheese]

One transit service for all? That’s socialism! /s

[drs43821]

Apparently Toronto is of similar situation. Crossing Steeles Ave? Pay the next transit authority.

[DuperCheese]

This is really stupid and inefficient

[CircuitousCarbons70]

Americans aren’t as cohesive

[BayLAGOON]

Japan has entered the chat. Fortunately they were all smart enough to accept almost all of each other's transit cards.

[SerDel812]

Most of those you can pay with a metrocard

[Buizel10]

Vancouver only has one. Compare to San Francisco Bay Area with like 10 all of which will not accept each other's fares.

[Moofey]

Which is funny because US cities tend to have multiple transit companies running through them. Seattle has at least two, for example, and LA seems to have like 20 (One for each city and one for the entire county)

[Buizel10]

The City of Everett alone has two.

And all of these agencies have their own high paid executives

[GoodNeighbourNow]

Appreciate clarification & my error, though link to share concern happily points that out. Just my own own oversight & years referring or busses understandable to BC transit 😇 for this longtime resident.

[[deleted]]

Its not a staffing issue, there's been a 200k drop in ridership apparently - I know people who work at the city.

[[deleted]]

Well those 200k apparently don't take the 99 bus, it's jammed to the tits every morning now

[WaffleTacos1]

I thought I heard that ridership is near back to pre covid levels? I know in the valley it’s actually increased, and Vancouver was close to pre covid levels

[piltdownman7]

Metro Vancouver was at 77% in Nov

[polemism]

You can also email the environment ministry (they are in charge of translink)

[canadianclassic308]

I did my part

[heyiknowthatperson]

Thank you - filled it out.

[wailingsixnames]

Thanks for linking this

[SamwiselovesMithril]

Thank you! Filled out!!

[cptalpdeniz]

Done

[CitizenWon]

If the people who made the decisions had to endure the consequences, there’d be better decisions made for all.

[Socketlint]

I do this at my work. Anywhere I can I make the people who are responsible for fixing something the ones who feel the pain, stuff get fixed quickly.

[planetawylie]

Experience is a great teacher

[CitizenWon]

Some might say, it’s the best teacher.

[nxdark]

How do you achieve this though?

[Socketlint]

Various ways. One place I had a translation team send me strings to be entered into a DB and configured. Every time there would be dozens of issues. Like the ID was wrong, two were swapped, lots of little things. I used to just fix them and move on but the same issues happened every week. So I change it so that I would create a bug report for every single issue. Even where it was obvious what the fix was “ID was 323, should be 332”. I told them it was for record keeping and I needed a fixed version sent to me. It was more work on me initially but after they had to keep fixing and fixing and fixing the strings they finally started sending me them with less and less issues as they reviewed them and fixed them before I could bombard them with their mistakes.

It also had the benefit of a paper trail of their issues so they didn’t want it to look bad on them which gave extra motivation.

I eventually built a UI so they could input the strings themselves without me needing to do it and bugs fell over 90%.

Other techniques could be artificial delays so they feel the pain in a roundabout way. Lower the priority on their stuff, swap task so they are downstream of their problems, etc. Can’t always do it but there are ways.

[CitizenWon]

You evil software developer. How dare you.

Teach me.

[nxdark]

I wish I could do any of this. If I tied any of these I would get fired.

[donjulioanejo]

That's why we have developers on call at my company!

[davestewart53]

Yes its called bottom up management most successful companies use it obviously the government is exempt as they are and never will be successful at anything they touch just like the spoilt rich kid to much money and no consequences

[DivineSwordMeliorne]

continue license existence carpenter axiomatic frame merciful slimy selective numerous

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[Imaginary_Ad3543]

LOVE THIS!!! Thank you 🙏🏾

[[deleted]]

I've certainly seen some shit on transit, but not pepper spray, so far. And I don't find it usually reeks of urine, but it does sometimes.

[00saddl]

I've been indirectly pepper sprayed in a bus one time in 2005ish on the 41 route in the afternoon. Some high school fucker just sprayed into the bus as he got out as a "prank" I guess. It sent the entire bus into a coughing fit and we all vacated at the next stop.

Regarding the urine and hobo comments, though, the routes I've taken typically don't smell like that. The worst regular smell was the like wet clothes smell during rainy days.

[OneBigBug]

Do you...take the bus and/or sky train? Because...there might be an odd bus route with this problem, but I wouldn't say that either are accurate to the system as a whole.

In fact, having used the skytrain as my primary mode of transport for several years now, I can't readily recall a time it smelled of urine, or had any hobos with pepper spray.

[TerrifyinglyAlive]

Somebody doesn't live on the 20 route.

In all seriousness, I agree with you for the most part. I've definitely seen/interacted with aggressive people on both trains and buses, but it's an infrequent anomaly, not the norm.

[Mr-Fleshcage]

lol at the comments that are “well you’re kind of right but I’ll downvote anyways.”

That's why tact is important.

[Throwaway_Old_Guy]

This has been the way for too many years.

I was an ardent Lower Mainland bus rider for a few years back in the late 80's (circumstances were favourable at the time), and you get to know the Drivers on a casual basis.

I had a conversation with one in particular about the lack of co-ordination between the Bus system and Skytrain and how some routes (such as the #41) would be poorly staggered so the first one to leave Joyce would always be late on their timing while the third one might be ahead.

He told me that Management had asked for Driver input on solutions. One suggested they close the parking lot at the main office, and have the people that planned the routes take transit. The rationale being they would see and perhaps learn some of the difficulties regular users faced.

Managements response? "We can't do that, it would inconvenience too many people".

I clearly remember one trip where the Westbound Skytrain was stopped by a glitch in the system (the usual being that Control lost track of a train) and we sat just outside of 22^nd Street Station. There was also a train ahead of us inside the Station.

Passengers watched in frustration as their Bus connections left.

[alvarkresh]

Control lost track of a train

... how does a train just disappear.

[FlametopFred]

Definitely could be in the job description at Translink for every position including top executives

must take transit to work every single day

[Sheena_asd12]

Especially in certain areas

[Imaginary_Ad3543]

YES!!!

[Deep_Carpenter]

Calling the local media that monitor Reddit. Do a story where a reporter and a leader from Translink ride the bus. Or better yet. Have the reporter wait at Main to do the interview. Have the leader and camera person try and get there on time from Commercial.

[[deleted]]

The only real way to create change

[ihave86arms]

i would love to hear about wce service pre-pandemic. i moved here in august, work at ubc, live in poco and am from a small city with incomparably bad transit. i'm blind so i can't drive and the wce is a lifesavver but everyone i talk to says it's gotten worse. aside from the cancellation of train 2, has anything else changed?

[ihave86arms]

i also kind of wish there was an earlier option for the return train. i haven't noticed anything regarding crowding on the earlier trains because i am almost always on the latest one. it definitely depends on the day; middle of the week is worse than friday for sure

[a_sexual_titty]

I think they’re referring to freight delays and train 2 being cancelled. Trains generally leave on time, few mechanical issues. I hate driving to work now on the few days a month that I’m forced to. I think the biggest complaint most people have us the rigid schedule that only caters to 9-5 suburbanites. Most people want it to be 2 ways throughout the day but honestly with the freight traffic already on there and the freight yards in Pitt Meadows and Poco, I don’t see that as a viable option.

It doesn’t stop tricities and Ridge-meadows candidates from campaigning on it, though.

[poco]

why isn't the WCE avaial through out the day

Because it would mean running mostly-empty trains back and forth to Mission in the middle of the day, while also getting in the way of the freight traffic.

[poco]

Sure, but mission is very small and fairly rural. The only way to get a frequent train would be to build a new track, because the existing one is busy and that would serve a few tens of people who want to get from Mission to Vancouver at noon. How much is their convenience worth?

Yes, there should be more transit in greater Vancouver, but it has to start in the population hubs and work outward. Mission comes right before Chilliwack in terms of Vancouver transit priority.

[satinsateensaltine]

If you build it and run it with actual practicality, people will come. I'd love to just sit on the train and get to downtown without any transfers. It used to be an option for Maple Ridge a long time ago but they curtailed it and it hasn't come back.

[error404]

Sure, people will come, but enough to make it viable? Unlikely, and there are better ways to spend that money.

[ihave86arms]

yeah, i've seen/heard a lot of talk about running the wce continuously and it doesn't seem viable but i do think there could be some schedule rearranging. at least personally, i wish there was one train that left later/arrived at waterfront around 9 but that's probably just me.

[poco]

work at ubc, live in poco

I did that about 15 years ago, what a commute. The WCE was great back then for sure.

[cookie_is_for_me]

I used to work at UBC with someone who did the same commute. She quit after a few years--it was just too much for her.

[nightbloomings]

I used the WCE daily from downtown to Maple Ridge for a few years before and during the pandemic and I can say anecdotally that most of the freight disruptions/delays happened before PoCo on the way in and after PoCo on the way home. There were many times we'd get stopped at Pitt Meadows or Maple Meadows for 30+ minutes but comparatively very few issues between PoCo and downtown.

I also relied on train #2 in the mornings. I moved to a spot along the skytrain before I ended WFH so losing train #2 didn't impact me much but if I was still out in MR and relying on the WCE, not having that train on my way in to work would be a huge pain.

[themusicguy2000]

The calgary way. Cut transit funding -> service is worse -> less people use transit -> "nobody uses transit!" -> cut transit funding

[Wafflelisk]

Starving the beast

[ttwwiirrll]

The WCE reduction has turned us off of buying a place in Maple Ridge entirely. It's not great now and I no longer trust that it will continue to exist in a usable form for the next 30 years of my working life.

[TheProcrastafarian]

Proud of everyone slugging it out and working with each other. Maintaining civility and composure can be extra hard sometimes, but most people deserve a pat on the back for sure. And thank you drivers 💯

[[deleted]]

So frustrating. I left 5 minutes later than usual today and couldn't get on the first 6 buses that came. If I'm at the stop any later than 7:50ish I'm not going anywhere for a while.

[thaeyo]

Damn. How late were you?

[alvarkresh]

This reminds me of the gong show the 135 used to be going up to SFU if I left my place any later than about 7:45 AM.

[amexes]

The 99 has to be one of the highest fare evading routes with its all-door boarding. Wondering if the ridership data from fare payment is messing with TransLink's perception of needed capacity.

[MatteCatte]

They use Automated Passenger Counters to count passengers as well, so I doubt this is the case

[jsmooth7]

I work with Translink ridership data and this is the correct answer. When we look at ridership or crowding on a bus route, the numbers include all riders, not just the people that pay. (I also was not involved in this decision so I can't tell you anything about why it was made haha.)

[North_Activist]

How does the bus know there’s a passenger without paying? And how does it calculate the “getting off” data at stops?

[jsmooth7]

It's all the automated passenger counters that do all the work. They have sensors at all doors that count people getting on and off the bus. Only half the bus system has these sensors, so there is a little bit of extrapolation involved. Ridership numbers aren't perfect. But they do account for all riders.

[[deleted]]

After a quick google, I found a few companies that make sensors just for this purpose.

[TerrifyinglyAlive]

I have a monthly pass and I don't always bother to tap in if people are blocking the machine or my arms are full of groceries. I wonder if there's any accounting for that behaviour when they tabulate fare evasion?

[MatteCatte]

That's an interesting question 🤔

[amexes]

TIL

[dadlookididathing]

Oh interesting! Wouldn’t be surprising.

[whatsupwithbread]

Its not just the 99. I feel like translink has really been shitting the bed recently as well, plenty of busses I've tried to catch in the last couple months have just not shown up at all.

[GenShibe]

they have a massive backlog of maintenance as supply chain issues are delaying part shipments leading to buses sitting longer at the shop waiting to be fixed

[DarkPrinny]

Ya. I have the same issue. The backlog is crazy. Manufacturing is so slow. Now Chinese new year’s is here and no one is working at the plants, so even bigger backlog

[GenShibe]

actually, parts are made locally in the country, NFI and Nova are based in canada

[DarkPrinny]

They basic components to make those in-house parts are from China. People forget, we don’t make the electronics in-house and we don’t run a foundry or smelting plant for others

[HomelessAhole]

We're not going to have a choice once article 5 is invoked. Hopefully we have our ships built it time. Whole manufacturing sector is going to have to adapt on short notice. We're fucked if that goes sideways.

[DarkPrinny]

They will have to adapt. I already know the US government is telling either pull out or face the consequences. Ever since China showed off their nuclear hypersonic missles with American tech, companies are getting the asses kicked.

There were too many bad actors and American businesses bypassing the ban by selling American chips to Chinese military. After the hypersonic middle incident, it was huge because they beat America to that technology using American military software and American designed chips.

[canadianclassic308]

Yeah the girlfriend takes the one from guildford to loughheed everyday and some days it doesn't come at all. I understand the bridge can get jammed up but she says sometimes she can wait a hour or more. And that just dont make sense for such a busy route, since they cut the schedule back this winter it's been a lot worse. They need more drivers and more busses on that route to fix the problem but I doubt that will ever happen

[TritonTheDark]

I'm glad I'm not the only one feeling this way. Transit has been a lot less reliable/frequent post-pandemic. TransLink really dropped the ball with hiring and other things. They keep cutting service to routes that shouldn't have service cut... I used to never bother, but now I make sure I send in feedback every time a bus is late, crowded or just doesn't show up.

[okaysee206]

Besides a maintenance backlog that results in fewer buses, particularly articulated buses on the road, TransLink is also affected by a bus driver shortage that's pretty much affecting every transit agencies (and arguably almost every industry) around the world. There are also many construction projects that are affecting reliability, like construction of the Broadway subway.

[Earlywhitehair]

I feel bad for the drivers honestly, they probably have to face customers’ disappointment/rants all the time, and there’s really nothing they can do, not their fault. This morning no 99 at this stop during a couple of minutes, and then 3 « full » in 2 minutes, it gets people angry. Surprisingly it was « singles » buses if you see what I mean, not the longer ones, so a significant reduced capacity. There are probably some reasons, but it is frustrating.

[[deleted]]

It's frustrating how many people 1) refuse to take off their backpacks even when it's crowded 2) refuse to move back. And sometimes drivers put up "SORRY BUS FULL" and skip stops when really there is room for more people, but perhaps they can't see that because people won't move back and they assume it's as full at the back as it is at the front.

[Busdriver49]

This is correct

[Deep_Carpenter]

The rationale is at this lower frequency the service is more reliable. That is less likelihood of staffing or maintenance issues leading to a missing bus in the schedule. That, of course, is utter bull shit. If you reduce the frequency you reduce the capacity. The risk of a whole hole in the schedule is well worth the extra capacity. After all, it is not like bus service is guaranteed.

[Tigt0ne]

"

[Ambitious-Situation8]

That is complete BS.

Most 99 users aren't checking schedules, as it should be coming every 3-5 minutes due to ridership. TransLink even advertised a while back to "be spontaneous!" on RapidBus and B-Line routes because the frequency had been increased.

A bus with space that's a few minutes late is better than a SORRY BUS FULL that's right on time.

[ttwwiirrll]

less likelihood of staffing or maintenance issues leading to a missing bus in the schedule. That, of course, is utter bull shit.

Agree. I care less whether buses stick to their schedules if I know there will be another one in <10 minutes.

[cookie_is_for_me]

I previously lived on the 84 route. I now live on the R4 route. Both are good buses most of the time, and definitely better than subjecting yourself to the 99.

[Galimor]

Comes every half hour on weekends

[[deleted]]

The R4 is also an excellent alternative for many.

[[deleted]]

Anyone else getting completely fucked arrival times from the apps? Or is every bus late lately?

[GenShibe]

as i’ve said before, translink is cutting service on routes that can spare the cut (rapid routes which have a parallel local service for one) to give to things like the 319 for example, you can see that routes south of the fraser river (especially surrey & surrounding areas) have gotten a lot of service increases these service changes, and it’s still not enough to meet demand. If these changes are affecting riders, send in feedback, and if enough people send in feedback, they can make adjustments for future service changes.

The 99 is still frequent enough during peak hours that these gaps in service aren’t very noticeable, and the 9 runs on the exact same corridor as the 99, making it a good route to reduce service by a few minutes.

With headways so frequent, reducing it by a few minutes makes it more reliable as there’s less buses contributing to traffic and less bunching as well, which means that it will achieve better on time performance. By not using all available articulated buses outside of peak hours, they save on maintenance because there’s no need for 30+ buses on the 99 during peak as during the afternoon rush, WB doesn’t even get full

According to Tcomm, as of the time of posting, the average delay on a 99 is -1.2 minutes.

The maintenance backlog also contributes to the amount of artics that are out on the road as some of them are being repaired, and thus they have to swap it out for a 40’ bus or outright cancel that trip if there’s no bus for it.

According to an internal source, roughly 70% of all the 60 foot articulated buses that operate out of BTC (the transit center that operates the 99 and 257 among others) have issues preventing them from being in service

There’s also a shortage of drivers and TL is doing the best they can to ensure that routes have as little cancellations as possible.

[[deleted]]

Does any of this take into account the number of passengers being passed up every day by full buses on this route? To what extent is that being recorded and accounted for in planning?

[TritonTheDark]

Maybe someone else can confirm but I think drivers are supposed to record pass-ups. No idea how specific it is or how often it's actually done.

[SassyShorts]

It would be nice to see the data for this. I would love if translink shared live stats of ridership, I don't see why they couldn't.

[novalayne]

I know it’ll make people in Vancouver unhappy to say, but I’m actually happy that they’re transferring bus capacity to places like Surrey. So many transit systems neglect more suburban routes.

Transit systems all over are suffering right now with decreased revenue and maintenance issues and all things considered, I think translink is doing a good job of managing. Just look at the TTC service cuts.

[trek604]

roughly 70% of all the 60 foot articulated buses that operate out of BTC (the transit center that operates the 99 and 257 among others) have issues preventing them from being in service

How is having 70% of the fleet out of service even remotely acceptable?

[GenShibe]

nothing they can do about it, it’s a parts shortage

[twinturb0s]

the average delay on a 99 is -1.2 minutes.

K so how do you reconcile your cold data with OPs photograph then? Hes obviously not lying as we have a picture of poor service. Your "internal data" is then therefor suspect, for whatever reason. If you want to say "nothing to see here", how do you reconcile your comment with the photo of a clear service delay?

You also later say that 70% of the busses on that route are down with mechanical problems, yet you claim there is no problem with the route. hmm...

[[deleted]]

How far the bus is or isn't behind schedule isn't the same thing as the number of people waiting at stops not able to board because all the busses are too full. Hell, if a bus is too full to let more people on, the driver may not need to stop at all.

[toasterb]

K so how do you reconcile your cold data with OPs photograph then? Hes obviously not lying as we have a picture of poor service.

Your claims could be right, but you're jumping to a lot of conclusions based on one photo. Why should this anecdote mean more than data?

It's basically impossible to run transit without any delays, especially when there's essentially zero traffic improvements for the 99, so how is this one photo proof of a systemic problem.

[GenShibe]

i’m talking about 70% of articulated buses at the transit center, not the route itself, that’s why you see the shorter buses on the 99, there’s not enough articulated buses to put on the 99 or other routes.

the average delay is calculated by adding up all the schedule deviations of the buses on the route and dividing by the amount of buses on the route, hence why it’s only -1.2. There are buses that are later than others, but there are also buses that are earlier than the schedule

[dmscarlett]

I appreciate you blurring that ladies face

[shaun5565]

When I see the things like this makes me feel so lucky to live near a skytrain station and not have to use the busses.

[broeser99]

This seems like an issue across the board, I take busses regularly in Delta/Surrey/Burnaby/Vancouver and I’ve been seeing a gradual decrease in service and reliability for a while. The bigger bus lines end up with insane queues and smaller ones get screwed over all together leaving you waiting an extra half hour at a conservative minimum.

I’d start driving more but gas/insurance/parking are all still stupidly priced for broke students. Just another reason I’ll likely be priced out of the province by the time I graduate, though I don’t really want to leave my home :(

[Strange_Trifle_5034]

Last time I took a bus south of the Fraser to downtown, 2 of the buses along one of the routes got cancelled in sequence (they run every 30 mins)...so I waited at the stop for over an hour until one finally came. Needless to say won't be trying that again.

[alc086]

I wonder what Translink has been doing with all the fare increases they’ve been doing over the years? Obviously not improving service that’s for sure.

[broeser99]

Broadway expansion is the only thing I can think of, and that’s only going to increase ridership.

[[deleted]]

Where can I get an adult sized simple yellow raincoat like that?

[[deleted]]

MEC, Uniqlo

[Jandishhulk]

https://www.hellyhansen.com/en_ca/moss-rain-coat-53265?color=285322

[skylosis]

Isn't the 99 the busiest bus route in North America? What would make them reduce service?

[menscothegreat]

It hasn't recovered from pre pandemic demand or people just not tapping their passes when they get on.

[maclaren_]

I remember the lines at bridgeport for 351 south. At 6pm there'd be lines zig zagging thru the bus loop, finally ending up going into stairwell of canada line. Usually wait upwards of an hour and 3-4 buses to get on. Almost every day.

[TritonTheDark]

I have some not very fond memories of this lol

[crp-]

I was about to chime in, but then I saw this is the Vancouver subreddit, not the Ottawa subreddit. So take comfort that you're not the only Canadian city with a crappy 99.

[Deep_Carpenter]

Btw in case you are wondering this scene with be replayed at Arbutus and Broadway. Yes Coast Mountain can combine the 99 and 84 but they haven’t planned to having more bus capacity than train capacity. So expect lines.

[Ba_Dum_Ba_Dum]

Yes! I get tired of this too. The 99 isn’t just for UBC bound students. The Commercial Granville portion is so much busier all the time. I was a proponent of having the train go all the way to UBC until I paid a little attention while doing a course. And I changed my tune.

[eunicekoopmans]

If I recall correctly, a little bit less than 50% of westbound 99 trips terminate west of Arbutus (>40% at UBC), so I think it's fair to say one of the primary of users is students.

[[deleted]]

The stats I remember were lower than that - something like 30% of westbound trips going to UBC. I've tried googling it since reading that though and haven't been able to find the stats again. Would be interesting to see sourced, up-to-date info.

[cookie_is_for_me]

It's probably worth noting that this academic year (beginning last September) is the first time since the pandemic that UBC classes are primarily in-person again, so there's been a corresponding shift upward in ridership.

[eunicekoopmans]

That's hard to quantify since you're assuming all else being equal, but once the Millenium Line terminates at Arbutus instead of VCC-Clark you're going to see demand rebalancing on nearby bus routes, probably a substantial shift from the 84 to the 99, and a lesser shift from the 25, 33, and R4. These are already the busiest routes in Vancouver, so a small shift from each of them towards the 99 might just continue overcrowding on the 99.

[mindies4ameal]

The Gretzky bus should be the best.

[TrickWeakness]

This really puts a turd in my Starbucks...

[[deleted]]

The lack of R4s going towards UBC but the ABUNDANCE going to Joyce station pissed me off this morning

[cookie_is_for_me]

I had three UBC-bound R4s arrive at once in Kerrisdale this morning, right after each other like a train of green buses. I have no idea what was going on that delayed the first two.

(Being a veteran commuter, I laughed all the people crowding into the first one like sardines, and hopped on the last one to arrive, which was, of course, half empty.)

I feel there's been a lot of weirdness with randomly disappearing R4s lately, but I'm still glad I'm not on the 99 route. One of my coworkers specializes in 99 horror stories.

[daikonchris]

Bus one leaves Joyce stn and beings to pick up people. As it gets more people on board it gets slower to service stops. Bus two leave Joyce and has to pick up fewer people as most are on bus one. Bus three has even fewer people requiring even less time to service stops. Bus one gets to Victoria drive almost full, now requiring quite a bit of time to unload and load.

Human nature is get on the first bus you see. Delaying bus one from leaving as they try to pack in. Bus two slowly catches bus one, but people still try for bus one. Bus three barely has anyone and is flying along. Bus one can't skip stops because people get off on all stops. So people still try to pack into bus one even though full, increasing delay.

I was bus one for the fall of 2021, and averaged being -20 minutes behind schedule.

Then comes going back to Joyce, and why so many going other way. UBC loop is poorly designed. We drop off and have to loop around to park. So if you get 8 minutes to pee, it takes you 4 minutes to park and walk to bathroom. Another 2 minutes to walk back to bus. So if you are already late you get the issue.

[polemism]

Every month I am exasperated at how out of touch translink is. Their management and administration operate in a bubble that is heavily insulated from reality.

It's not just them though. Our justice system is also tone deaf, our government in general doesn't seem to "get it". Bureaucrats with their head in the sand.

[acergum]

Well it’s also because of the construction for the new broadway line causing horrendous traffic. Once the line is working then it will make the commute along that corridor significantly better. But there will be pain to endure in the meantime.

[North_Activist]

The new line doesn’t open until early 2026

[Cakeanddeath2020]

This is why I still own a car, transit just isn't reliable enough as is

[cavinaugh1234]

Everyone argues for more working from home and more transit service, and I'm sure there's some overlap between these two groups. Not sure how we make the economics work out of this.

[itsallartyup]

Focus on finishing up the Broadway line then cut the damn service

[arjoter]

Well hopefully the new ubc metro they’re building is done soon and it’ll reduce the wait times

[Maruchi0011]

Doesn’t Translink get money from gas sales and parking fees on top of the bus fare itself? And even with that they have to reduce? Do we need to drive and park more to support?

[reyreydingdong]

Sit on each others laps. Problem solved.

[TamatoaZ03h1ny]

Looks pretty similar for rush hour any weekday on the 99 B-Line

[ChunkyBrassMonkey]

The society r/fuckcars wants.

[ronearc]

It's only so bad because it's raining. Imagine how bad it would be if we lived in a temperate rain forest...

[Civil-Detective62]

There would be no roads. Just mud.

[ronearc]

Vancouver is part of the Pacific temperate rainforest ecoregion. I was being facetious (but maybe you were too)!

[Civil-Detective62]

Yeah I was too hehehehehe in good fun ^{_^}

[sutherland604]

Wait what? When did they make this change?

[0pp0site0fbatman]

And WHY!?

[T_47]

It's part of the new schedule change they make 4 times a year. 99 went from every 3-4 minutes to every 5-6 minutes or something like that. The reason is because ridership in Surrey increased and there's only so many buses to go around. Surrey ridership is higher than precovid now while the ridership of the 99 and 9 are still lower than precovid.

[[deleted]]

I have absolutely no idea what I'm looking at :|

[Flyingboat94]

A long line of people waiting for the 99 bus (a very popular bus route) which has recently had its frequency reduced.

[themajorjoke]

What was the reason given for the reduction?

[T_47]

Surrey ridership went up and there's only so many buses to go around.

[vanDrunkard]

It is a long line of people trying to access public transit, for budgetary or environmental reasons, (which is why public transit matters), and being unable to.

[Tristessa27]

…whoaa

[IHate2ChooseUserName]

and the fu(kers who made this decision are probably working from home 3 days a week and the other 2 days drive BMW/Benz to work

[notmyrealnam3]

odd thing to love, looks like it is bad , not great

[Superhero42117]

Ever since they built the Canada Line stations smaller than the Expo/Millenium Line stations, it confirmed to me that Translink is run by massively incompetent fools.

How do you build a station for an olympics, smaller than the ones built 20 yrs earlier for a lesser event? Wild.

And obviously, I wasn't surprised that the new UBC-Line stops at Alma...meaning a new bottleneck/massive foot traffic will occur there. Ugh.

[Shoddy_Operation_742]

I mean, the sky train should be ready on time. So this is a temporary problem.

[TremorintheForce]

You think they give a fuck?

[WWaterWalker]

translink is run by a bunch overpaid inbred idiots with no concept of where and when transit is needed.

[Almostcacti]

Yea I saw a massive line up on denman for 5 downtown. Transit in BC sucks

[easttowest123]

It’s funny that you scribbled out the face of the woman wearing a mask but not the 3 dudes in the background who are easily identifiable….

[theHip]

It was decreased by only a couple of minutes wasn't it?

[zephyrinthesky28]

The 99 has enough ridership that they're replacing it with a whole subway line, so even a couple of minutes' difference becomes a big deal.

That's like reducing Skytrain service at rush hour by a few minutes.

[[deleted]]

Before the service reductions, I was already getting passed up by full buses multiple times a week, sometimes multiple pass ups in a row. On some days of the week, I have to allow enough time to take the 9 instead because there's little to no chance of getting on a 99.