Dare to Dream of a Better 19

The City of Vancouver and TransLink are attempting to speed up the buses on Main and Kingsway, we’ve linked to their websites where you can read more about the specific changes. TransLink decides how far apart the bus stops are, and the city controls where bus lanes and other bus priority measures like queue jumps or traffic signal priority go. These changes to the bus stops and city streets together are estimated to only save 3% of time on trips on the 19.

Public engagement is on now, and there are two surveys open that close on November 9th, one from TransLink for bus stop balancing and from the city for business owners. There is no survey for transit riders if they want to have a say on the bus priority measures like bus lanes. But they should be hearing from transit riders, so it’s the perfect time to let them know you want better, by emailing Vancouver staff, city councillors, and TransLink.

The bus stop priority measures are expected to be implemented in early 2026.

Back in 2023, Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung put forward an excellent motion, to help address bus speed and reliability in Vancouver. The motion specified a goal of 10% time savings for bus commuters on Kingsway. Last Summer, in 2024, Councillor Christine Boyle brought forward another motion that built off the last one, adding more corridors to the bus priority list and calling for automated bus lane enforcement. Movement and Vision Zero Vancouver teamed up to support it, over 200 emails went to council in support, and councillors voted in favour unanimously.

Making buses faster and more reliable is the best way to move people around efficiently in our city, it helps reduce traffic and reduce pollution, it makes our streets safer, and it’s popular! The city should do more of it and strive to do it well, and we’re holding them to their promises.

3% time savings is a start, but it just isn’t enough to make a real difference in the lives of transit riders.

The city’s plan includes a small section of 7am-7pm, 7 day a week bus lanes on Main St, but all the bus lanes on Kingsway are limited to weekday morning and afternoon peak hours (7am-10am and 3pm-7pm). There’s plenty of delay outside of those times that won’t be addressed by the current proposal. They are also only in effect on weekdays, which ignores Saturday afternoons, one of the most delayed times of week for bus riders!

The plan is not very ambitious, and it seems to us like they are making it mild in anticipation of public pushback. But we know bus priority is a good thing, and they just need to hear from transit riders like you to have the courage to do more of it.

There are so many ways! Here’s a link to our proposal that would put in far more bus lanes in either direction, while maintaining street parking in front of businesses that have few other parking options. It would also add bus bulbs and bus priority on Pender, and a left turn ban from Main to Pender, and a bus-only signal. It may seem unexpected to add bus priority off Kingsway to help out commuters on Kingsway, but when the bus gets backed up downtown it affects everyone further along on the route, so it’s important to add bus priority wherever there is delay.

Don’t let the lack of survey keep you from letting the city know how you feel about your ride on the 3, 8, 19, 25 or 26. Send an email sharing your personal story of how much time you spend waiting on a bus that’s stuck in traffic, or use our handy pre-written email to add to the chorus. It’s a shame that the city isn’t actively seeking transit rider’s feedback about this, after all, you’re the most affected by these changes.

Unfortunately, changes to the pedestrian infrastructure are outside of the scope of the bus priority project that the city is putting forward. But it’s truly an awful intersection, and it is within the city’s jurisdiction, so if you’re unhappy with it you should absolutely mention that you would like to see improvements to the pedestrian experience there. The city can do so much better along Main and Kingsway!