31 percent of TransLink bus stops are not accessible

by Stephen Hui on September 19th, 2014 at 5:29 PM

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The latest Access Transit email newsletter from TransLink contains some interesting stats.

It says there are 8,291 active bus stops in Metro Vancouver. Of those, 69.1 percent are wheelchair-accessible. That means 30.9 percent of bus stops are not accessible.

Bowen Island has the highest percentage of accessible bus stops, at 100 percent. But that's because there's only one conventional bus stop there; the rest are "flagstops".

West Vancouver is listed at 88.9 percent, but that only includes the nine Coast Mountain Bus Company-maintained stops around Park Royal and the Lions Gate Bridge.

So North Vancouver City is tops sans asterisk, at 88 percent.

TransLink

Vancouver and UBC aren't far behind. 82.7 percent of the 1,939 bus stops there are accessible.

Belcarra and Anmore recorded the lowest percentage of accessible bus stops, at 42.3 percent.

Regionwide, the percentage of accessible stops is up from August 2013's 66.9 percent.

Comments

8 Comments

Disgusted

Sep 19, 2014 at 7:08pm

Except...TransLink doesn't manage/maintain ANY bus stops.

They are the domain of the municipalities. It is up to the munis to take are of them and build them out.

Martin Dunphy

Sep 19, 2014 at 9:15pm

Disgusted:

Thanks for the post. Actually, though, it appears that CMBC does maintain them. The two exceptions are noted on the graphic provided with the newsletter .

too sensitive

Sep 20, 2014 at 12:05am

I always thought it demeaning and cheap to force the disabled to fight the bums on transit for a seat. If I were disabled, I don't know that I'd want to hold up the bus getting on and off. Give these people some dignity and provide them their own transit service.

fyi

Sep 20, 2014 at 1:06am

The numbers are wrong. I've witnessed bus drivers turn down wheelchairs/stroller for numerous pitiful reasons. I have also fear for the elderly people because the bus driver was running late.

healthy feedback

fct

Sep 22, 2014 at 5:42am

This is to fyi: the bus driver turned down the wheelchair maybe because his bus is full? Would he tell some passengers to get off the bus so he could accommodate the wheelchair? The bus is late maybe because the bus driver has to wait for you running for the bus because you're late? Several occassions why the buses are late are because of passengers running for the bus and the driver had waited for them. You have to look at the bigger picture, not your little ego centric world. Our public transit is more complicated than you think.

Naturalmystic

Sep 23, 2014 at 11:34am

The disabled shouldn't be on regular transit buses. They slow down loading and unloading and take up too much space. Modifications made to buses reduce seating and capacity for able bodied passengers, they also make the buses far more expensive to purchase and maintain.

Martin Dunphy

Sep 23, 2014 at 3:51pm

Natural:

Once the modifications are made, the maintenance costs are no higher. And if there were an adequate number of buses in Vancouver, running far more regularly than at present (as they should be doing on most runs), there would be no excuse for drivers to pass up a passenger in a wheelchair.
Sorry you might have to wait an extra 45 seconds to assist a person with mobility challenges and help make her feel like she can actually integrate with society when she ventures outside her home.