Am I the only person who posts bus routes here?
Anyways, after living in Port Coquitlam for more than 10 years, I still think the bus service here is very bad. It definitely improved since the community shuttle was introduced (the bus near my home, for example, was running bi-hourly before), but there are definitely more rooms to improve.
My observations:
- Beside the morning and afternoon connection to WCE, the community shuttle (CS) routes just don't go anywhere
- There is only 1 route connect to skytrain and 1 to downtown in southern Poco, while there are none in northern Poco (compare to the close-by Coquitlam station: 5 routes to skytrain and 2 routes to downtown)
- Most of the routes in Poco doesn't even go to Coquitlam station (where most of the connections are and most people want to go)
- Most routes are packed beyond capacity at peak (go to WCE), and running empty off peak
- People rather walk longer distance to catch a bus to Coquitlam station than catching CS to Poco centre and transfer to Coquitlam station: 701 can gain a half to full seat load of passengers every 15 minutes from the 5 stops serving Poco, while the C37 running every 30 minutes are mostly running empty
- 50% to 80% of the people arriving to Poco by 160 was transferring to a CS (and they had to transfer to the 160 at Coquitlam station), more than half of the passenger on the C37 in evening was coming from 160
- The only route to skytrain, the 159, doesn't even connect well to any of the CS routes! People sometimes have to wait up to 25min for the bus, plus a 40min ride to skytrain - a total time of 1.5 hours to get to skytrain! (if the CS connect well to 169 at Coquitlam station, the whole trip can be done within 30min)
- I know quite a few people taking C38 from Coq stn to River Springs, but it goes in a small loop around Coq town centre, another small loop around Poco town ctr, then a huge loop around the north side of Poco - a trip time of 45min just to go 3km!!
- All CS in poco are extremely loopy: bi-direction pan-shaped loops should use 2 different route numbers
- If you think a bus go on the same road twice is bad enough, the C38 goes on the same road THREE times per direction. And since it uses the same route number both directions, it uses the same road SIX times round trip
- Shaughnessy and Reeve street got a lot of mid-rise apartments there, but the only bus service they got is a one-way CS route that is most likely running full during peak hours by the time it gets there
- The David Avenue bridge had been opened for 2 years now, and no bus takes advantage of that
- Since skytrain is coming to Coquitlam station, there will be more demand of people going to Coq stn compare to Poco ctr.. unless skytrain extends to Poco ctr (and no, LRT won't change the situation since there's still a transfer there)
I like the idea of those CS routes in Westwood Plateau where one end goes to Coquitlam Station and one end goes to Port Moody Station.. so I'm trying to do the same thing between Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam station:
I think the map is a lot more messy than I thought after I put all the routes on there.. so I'll list them here:
#159 (not shown) [modified] Port Coquitlam Station/Braid Station
- no route change
- no need for industrial branch after evergreen line
#160 (not shown) [modified] Coquitlam Station/Vancouver
- terminate at Coquitlam station
#179 (Red) [modified] Coquitlam Station/Port Coquitlam Station via Johnson, River Springs (30min peak, 30min base, 30min weekend)
Johnson -> Robson -> Pinetree -> David -> Shaughnessy -> Wilson to Poco Stn
- more direct service to River Springs: 10-15min instead of 45min
#180 (Blue) [new route] Coquitlam Station/Port Coquitlam Station via Coast Meridian (15min peak, 30min base, 30min weekend)
Pinetree -> David -> Coast Meridian -> Kingsway -> McLean -> Pitt River -> Shaughnessy -> Wilson to Poco Stn
- better service to the apartments in Shaughnessy st.
- can terminate at Douglas College Station after evergreen line
- uses Coast Meridian overpass
- future FTN route
#189 (not shown) [cancelled]
#701 (Gold) [no change] Coquitlam Station/Maple Ridge East (15min peak, 15min base, 15min weekend)
#C30 (Dark Green) [modified] Coquitlam Station/Port Coquitlam via Lafrage Park, Oxford Heights (30min peak, 30min base, 60min weekend)
Pinetree -> Glen -> Pipeline -> Dunkirk -> Gabriola -> Harwood -> Nestor -> Gabriola -> Pipeline -> David -> Oxford -> Mason -> Wellington -> Lincoln -> Oxford -> Oxford Connector -> Lions -> Shaughnessy -> Wilson to Poco Stn
- continuous route along Oxford/Wellington
- can have more limited evening/weekend service
#C36 (Light Green) [modified] Coquitlam Station/Mary Hill via Port Coquitlam Station (15min peak, 30min base, 30min weekend)
Johnson -> Glen -> Pinetree -> Lincoln -> Westwood -> Kingsway -> Wilson -> Maple -> Wilson -> Reeve -> Pitt River -> Eastern -> Western -> Mary Hill and return
- provide both way service to Reeve
- replace Coquitlam Stn/Port Coquitlam Stn section of #160 (service to Shaughnessy at Lougheed privided by #701 and #C37)
#C37 (brown) [modified] Coquitlam Station/Port Coquitlam Station via Riverside, Prairie (30min peak, 30min base, 30min weekend)
Lougheed -> Shaughnessy -> Prairie -> Fremont -> Riverside -> Ottawa -> Lougheed -> Coast Meridian -> Coquitlam -> Oxford -> Oxford -> Oxford Connector -> Lions -> Shaughnessy -> Wilson to Poco Stn
- replace current #189, provide direct Prairie -> Coquitlam Stn service
#C38 (purple) [modified] Coquitlam Station/Port Coquitlam Station via Prairie, Oxford Heights (30min peak, 30min base, 30min weekend)
Pinetree -> Lincoln -> Pipeline -> David -> Oxford -> Mason -> Wellington -> Greenmount -> Coast Meridian -> Victoria -> Cedar -> Prairie-> Shaughnessy -> Wilson to Poco Stn
- provide direct Prairie -> Port Coquitlam Stn service
- relive some load off #C30 route
#C40 (Sea Green) [extended] Coquitlam Station/Meridian via Port Coquitlam Station (15min peak, 30min base)
Lougheed -> Westwood -> Kingsway -> Kebet -> Broadway and return
- complement #C36 along Westwood and Kingsway
- M-F daytime only
- replace #159 industrial loop when Evergreen line opens
Beside C40, each route has one-way trips is about 10.5 to 13.5km.. so can be done in about 30min. And the route-km of all branches is 182km (compare to 173km before).
Bus routes serving:
Coquitlam Station WCE, 143, 150, 151, 152, 160*, 177, 179,
180*,
190, 701,
C26, C27, C28, C29, C30,
C36,
C37,
C38,
C40,
N9
Lincoln Station 160*, 180*,
C27, C28, C29, C30,
C36,
C38,
N9
Douglas College Station 160, 180,
C28
River Springs 179,
180,
C30,
C38
Prairie Mall 180,
C37,
C38
Dominion Triangle 701,
C37
Shaugnhessy Station (front) 179,
701,
C37,
C38
Shaugnhessy Station (back) C30,
C37
Westwood Mall 701,
C36,
C37,
C40
Port Coquitlam Centre 159, 179,
C30,
C36,
C37,
C38
Port Coquitlam Station WCE, 159, 179,
180,
C30,
C36,
C37,
C38,
C40*
* = peak only
Total Peak bus requirement: Now (4 standard, 16 shuttles); My plan (6 standard, 18 shuttles):
Standard: 159 -1 (shorter distance), 160 -2 (shorter distance), 179 +2 (extension), 180 +6 (new route), 189 -2 (cancellation), C30 -1 (**)
Shuttle: C30 +3 (extension & **), C36 +3 (extension), C37 -1 (shorter distance), C38 -5 (shorter distance, less frequency), C40 +2 (longer distance)
** = conversion back to community shuttle