TransLink has confirmed that there may be a slightly longer wait in between trains to and from Surrey.
After October 22nd, the Millennium Line will have more trains and better frequency and the Expo line will have longer trains with slightly less frequency at certain times – meaning the wait time will increase for riders.
Commuters using the Expo Line will experience longer than usual wait times in between trains, adding around 10 seconds at peak times due to a new reconfiguration in advance of the Evergreen expansion.
Updated schedules show longer wait times during off-peak times (mid-day and evenings) as much as 90 seconds more between trains on the new branch of the Expo Line that runs between Columbia to King George/Columbia to Production Way-University.
In order to compensate for more frequent trains along the Millennium Line, and to accommodate all of the riders from Coquitlam and Port Moody when the Evergreen Line opens, TransLink has to shed some pounds somewhere.
The only issue, says SkyTrain advocate Daryl Dela Cruz, is that TransLink tried to cover up the frequency cut in Surrey – which obviously does not bode well in an already skeptical public who seems to harp on BC’s transit system.
Even though the wait times will be longer than usual after October 22nd (when other changes are set to take place), the trains will be bigger, meaning less crowding and more leg room.
Nevertheless, Dela Cruz wants to fight for the trains frequency to stay consistent in Surrey, and asks that TransLink not overlook the off-peak times where they think cuts are okay to be made.
Dela Cruz may be escalating a campaign to push for a reversal of the frequency changes on the horizon.
And even though the wait time will be a bit longer, the frequency of the SkyTrains is still quite commendable in regards to other forms of transportation.
In a city that sees many people rushing through their days, it may be refreshing to embrace those extra seconds of waiting time and just slow it down.
What are your two cents on the frequency cut? Share your thoughts in the comments below.