TransLink breaks annual ridership record

TransLink's ridership in 2017 has surpassed 400 million boardings, marking the agency's highest ridership for a single year.

The 400 millionth boarding occurred Dec. 20 at the end of the morning rush hour.

The ridership growth stemmed from strong regional economic growth, high fuel prices and increased transit services during the year, TransLink officials said in a press release.

In January, TransLink added more SkyTrain and SeaBus services as part of a 10-year transportation plan for metro Vancouver, British Columbia. The agency also is considering providing late-night SkyTrain service on Fridays and Saturdays.

From Jan. 1 to Nov. 30, ridership across all modes grew 6.3 percent to 377 million boardings. When the final numbers are tallied after Dec. 31, TransLink leaders expect year-over-year growth of more than 6 percent.

In November alone, ridership on the Expo/Millennium SkyTrain route shot up 11.2 percent to 8.9 million boardings.

"Reaching 400 million boardings on our system is yet another milestone in what has been an incredible two years for transit ridership in our region," said TransLink Chief Executive Officer Kevin Desmond. "The demand is there, and even with all the improvements rolled out in this first year of delivering on the [10-year transportation plan], we still have a lot of work ahead to meet that demand."