RapidBus coming to busiest bus corridor in Surrey and Delta

The R6 Scott Road RapidBus is expected to be in service by early 2024

 

TRANSLINK, the City of Surrey, and the City of Delta have started construction for a new RapidBus service on the Scott Road corridor – the busiest bus corridor south of the Fraser River with over 30,000 bus boardings each weekday.

The R6 Scott Road RapidBus will provide more convenient and reliable service with fewer stops to help Surrey and Delta residents better connect with SkyTrain, making their commute faster by up to 10 minutes in each direction.

The new R6 service will be TransLink’s largest service expansion since 2020. It will help keep up with rapidly growing demand for transit in Surrey and Delta, which is now exceeding pre-pandemic ridership levels and experiencing Metro Vancouver’s strongest ridership growth.

R6 improvements compared to current bus service will include:
• Fewer stops
• Articulated buses with more capacity
• All-door boarding at bus stops
• More bus priority lanes along the corridor
• Improved bus stops with live next-bus digital signage that can also read next-bus information out loud for customers with sight loss

Road improvements are now under way to deliver more dedicated bus lanes, upgraded bus stops, and a new bus lot near Newton Exchange. In addition to RapidBus, the Scott Road corridor has been identified as a potential future corridor for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Transport 2050: Ten-Year Priorities.

The R6 will provide express, limited-stop service between Scott Road SkyTrain Station and Newton Exchange alongside Route 319, which currently serves the corridor. Route 319 is the busiest bus route south of the Fraser River, and the fifth busiest bus route in Metro Vancouver. When the R6 is in service, Route 319 will continue to operate its regular route, servicing every stop along the corridor.

The $33 million capital improvements are paid for through the Mayors’ 10-Year Vision, of which the Government of British Columbia contributed 40 per cent of all capital costs. The R6 Scott Road RapidBus is expected to be in service by early 2024.