What happened: TransLink ridership has declined for the last six days, culminating in a 52% drop on March 17, compared with the same day in 2019. The transit operator has also announced that it will make buses free starting March 20, and that transit riders should enter buses by the back door only, to try to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
What this matters: It shows that people are taking health officials' advice and staying home, and it shows that TransLink is taking action to try to protect its bus drivers from contracting COVID-19.
Translink saw 684,000 people enter paid-fare zones throughout its system on March 17, it revealed on March 19. That is 52% down from the same day in 2019. It was also a day in which Vancouver Coastal Health ordered all bars and clubs to close and cancel St. Patrick's Day festivities.
Specifically, the breakdown for March 17 traffic showed:
- Total bus boardings were 48% below same day in 2019;
- Total Expo/Millennium Line boardings were 54% below the same day in 2019;
- Total Canada Line boardings were 59% below the same day in 2019;
- Total SeaBus boardings were 69% below the same day in 2019; and
- Total West Coast Express boardings were 70% below the same day in 2019.
This was the sixth consecutive day of declines, as on March 16, there were 843,000 boardings, which was 38% less than the same day in 2019. On March 15, a total of 552,000 people took transit, and the decline was 29% from the same day in 2019. On March 14, 726,000 boardings took place – down 23% from the same day in 2019. On March 13, there was a 17% drop in boardings, to 1,213,000 boardings. On March 12, the drop was only 7%, as 1,312,000 people entered paid fare zones.
The numbers are rounded, and the days of the week were not the same this year as last year but the trend is clear: fewer people are out and about in the community taking transit.
From simply walking around it is clear that there are also fewer cars on the road.
TransLink defines a boarding as each time a passenger enters a fare paid zone using a Compass Card or other proof of payment. Transfers are counted as additional boardings. Boardings are available as a system total and by transit mode. This does not represent an amount of people, given that most riders have more than one boarding per journey and more than one journey per day.
