Well it’s been a little over a month since downtown Vancouver was reconnected with Richmond by a rail line. For the first time in 50 years, since the demise of the Vancouver-to-Steveston ‘Sockeye Special’, one can board a train downtown and within 25 minutes be in the centre of Richmond. TransitFan is so happy that he’s a bit overwhelmed.
The crowds on opening day were exceptional. TransitFan started out at Waterfront station around 1:30pm to find a line-up of at least two hours to get on board. That Vancouver-area residents were willing to wait that long in the hot sun for a ride on public transit goes to show how much people here love their trains. Either that or free rides. However, I wasn’t willing to wait that long. And if you’ve read my previous column on becoming an expert transit rider, you’ll know that there are ways to avoid line-ups.
As I suspected, Vancouver City Centre and Yaletown-Roundhouse were basically the same story. City Centre may have had bands playing, but waiting more than an hour along a construction zone is not TF’s thing. I ambled down to Yaletown-Roundhouse, where there was a shorter line, shade, and a better band, but the line-up was still more than an hour. So I hoofed it over to Olympic Village station, which I knew wouldn’t be crowded because a) Few people seem to know about it and b) It was a late addition to the line and therefore not yet on many maps. And I was correct – no line-up at all and I even scored one of the passports that were already gone at the other stations.
Down the stairs and into the station and whoosh came a packed Canada Line pushing cool air from the tunnel underneath False Creek in front of it. On board we went, bound for Vancouver Airport. The train was bustling with people of course. After being underground for to Langara-49th, we surfaced at Marine Drive station, to audible ‘ahhhhh’s from the passengers. Nice to be back above ground. For some reason the train we were on went out of service at that point, which was annoying for everyone, but at least it gave me the chance to get a look at Marine Drive station. After waiting for the crowds to thin out a bit, it was on to YVR-Airport, which had a somewhat carnival-like atmosphere. Greeters, families with kids everywhere, free frozen treats, and a new public observation area where everyone was watching planes taking off.
What I was surprised at were the number of people from out of town taking the train on the first day. Not just from suburbs like Burnaby and Surrey, but I talked with riders from Mission, Hope, Victoria, and even Kelowna. For some it had been a coincidence that were in town on opening day, but for many they had planned their trip in order to ride the line on opening day. And all around I could hear people engaging each other in conversations about the new line – the frequency, the route, the new cars (and how they compared with SkyTrain cars), the stations, and on and on. I was intrigued at the number of people who appeared to be taking public transit for the first time. It could be that many of them were public transit tourists, like those who visit San Francisco and ride the cable cars, but would never set foot on public transit at home.
But my guess is that the Canada Line has already begun attracting regular riders who would never have ridden the now-defunct B-Line. Rail rapid transit tends to have this effect. If you can take people directly to their destinations faster and more cheaply than by car, you’ll attract excellent ridership. I have no doubt that the Canada Line will soon exceed ridership expectations as more people discover it.
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John Calimente is the president of Rail Integrated Developments. He supports great mass transit, cycling, walking, transit integrated developments, and non-automobile urban life. Click here to follow TheTransitFan on Twitter.