Transit ridership in Metro Vancouver has set a new record high.

According to TransLink, boardings totalled 39.65 million, the highest in more than eight years.

“While ridership has been growing every month, we have never surpassed the stand-alone record of 39.2 million boardings in February 2010 when Vancouver welcomed the world for the Winter Olympics – until now,” the regional transportation agency stated in a media release Tuesday (November 21).

Compared to the 36.26 million boardings in October 2017, last month’s number represents a 9.3 percent increase.

Bus boardings increased 10.5 percent to 24.45 million in October this year compared to the same month in 2017; Expo and Millennium Lines of SkyTrain, 7.7 percent, 10.04 million; Canada Line, seven percent, 4.26 million; SeaBus, 9.3 percent, 530,000; West Coast Express, 12.6 percent; 240,000; and HandyDART, 9.1 percent; 140,000.

TransLink noted that high gas prices, strong employment, and increases to transit services are fueling ridership growth.

“It’s great to see this kind of ridership growth, one sign that customers are responding to better transit service right across the region,” TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond said in the media release.