Metro Vancouver bus delays cost riders, and company: report

Waiting for a bus that doesn’t show up on time can be a frustrating experience, but according to a new report from TransLink, it can be a costly one too.

The report estimates that roadway delays cost the Coast Mountain Bus Company $80 million per year — about 15 per cent of its total operating costs.

“Bus delays have real impacts on the lives of people who rely on transit. As they sit in traffic or wait to transfer, transit riders face a time penalty which can be particularly steep for those who cannot afford to live in an urban core,” the report reads.

Part of the multi-million dollar setback is people will take the bus less often when they don’t trust they’ll get to their destinations on time.

“This reduces people’s confidence in riding the bus, pushing them toward driving a car instead, a choice that not only costs more for an individual but also adds further road congestion everyone must deal with.”

The report adds that hold-ups can have consequences for locals needing to get to their destination on time.

“Being late for an appointment, childcare pick-up, or exam can be more than an inconvenience. It can mean paying a late fee, waiting until the next slot, or failing a course. Being late for a job can mean losing it,” it adds. 

As fewer people were out and about during the pandemic, the report says that it also saw a brief increase in speedier bus times during the Spring of 2020.

But now it says the delays are back to what they were pre-pandemic or even worse.

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“Although pandemic restrictions and remote working policies have shifted travel patterns, overall bus-delay is at the same levels, or worse than before COVID-19,” the report reads.

From 2014 to 2022, the delays work out to cost the company $155.4 million.