Opinion: This busy Metro Vancouver bus route is a masterclass in how to put public transit last
The bus stop at Brentwood Town Centre Station was recently moved closer to the SkyTrain, a good idea in theory, and honestly, I think it was the right choice. In this case, you can’t have both an easy transfer to the SkyTrain and keep the connection to the Lougheed Highway and Willingdon Avenue intersection bus stop where other bus routes meet. Prioritizing the SkyTrain connection makes sense.
But if we’re making that tradeoff, let’s at least do it properly.
The new bus stop still isn’t right by the station entrance: it’s set back, with no shelter, no seating, and barely any visibility. At the very least, placing it under the guideway could’ve offered some protection from the rain and sun. I hope this relocation is just a first step and that we’ll see it evolve into the kind of bus-rail connection it was meant to be. Right now, it still feels like a compromise, not a proper solution.
Waiting for the bus is another challenge. My No. 25 bus stop is on Willingdon Avenue, where I can easily wait 20 minutes at a barely visible pole, with no shelter, nowhere to sit, breathing in car fumes from the way-too-wide bridge, with the train thundering underneath. The sidewalk here is so narrow that if more than two people are waiting, there’s barely space for others to pass.
And crossing the street? That’s another setback. Pedestrians have to go down a flight of stairs, walk under the bridge, and then back up, assuming they can. If you’ve got a stroller, cart, wheelchair, or mobility device, your only option is to detour around the vehicle loop or parking lots, adding at least 10 minutes to your trip (almost 1 km!).
Much of this falls under the City of Burnaby’s jurisdiction, but other cities aren’t much better: public transit riders and pedestrians just aren’t prioritized in the way our streets are designed. The lack of shelter, the poor connectivity, and the inaccessible crossings all send the same message: this space wasn’t designed with people in mind.
Long detour walking route between bus stops on the Willingdon Avenue overpass in Burnaby. (Google Maps/Michal Rieback)
Then there’s the Boundary Road and Kincaid Street intersection. Here, the bus needs to beg its way into traffic: two lanes in each direction, cars flying by at a minimum of 50 km/hr, and no bus priority. Just minutes of waiting for someone to maybe let the bus in.
The solution is simple: a new traffic signal pattern that creates a gap in general traffic so the No. 25 can go through. TransLink, Vancouver, and Burnaby have been working on this for a very long time now (it’s even suggested in TransLink’s 2023 Bus Speed and Reliability Report), but still no implementation in sight.
Nanaimo Station tries to offer another bus-SkyTrain connection, but again, the street design gets in the way. Westbound buses on the No. 25 have to wait at the same signal twice on every trip: once as they turn into the bus exchange at the station entrance, and again as they loop back out to Nanaimo Street. And there’s no bus priority at either point. The signal mostly favours general vehicle traffic, so buses just sit there and wait for a green light.
The buses have to have to the green light when entering and exiting the station at Nanaimo Station. (Google Maps/Michal Rieback)
And then more bus stops, almost every block, until finally arriving at UBC, after nearly an hour and a half on a packed, uncomfortable ride.
So, in summary, what’s the experience? Waiting over 20 minutes at a lonely bus stop pole with no shelter or seating, boarding a packed bus, stopping at almost every intersection, getting stuck behind cars, without any transit priority, and taking almost twice as long as driving.
Public transit riders cannot be an afterthought.
It must be prioritized and designed together with the streets themselves.
Even where there’s been some thought, like at Nanaimo, the overall street design still prioritizes cars over buses.
And when streets prioritize cars, people respond by driving more, which just adds to congestion and gridlock. But when we prioritize buses (people), everyone benefits. A single bus carrying 70 people takes up the road space of about three cars. It’s a smarter use of limited street space that works better for transit riders and drivers alike.
We need urban planning and street design that actually supports an effective bus network: not sprawling suburbia, but dense, connected street grids that make transit fast, frequent, and reliable.
If we’re serious about making transit competitive with driving, we need:
1. Bus routes with fewer bus stops and faster trips. If we want public transit to compete with driving, we need efficient routes that allow the buses to become a more attractive choice than the private car.
One way to do this is by adding express service along key corridors, like an express version of the No. 25 on King Edward Avenue (the emerging Burrard Peninsula Area Transport Plan, which has not been finalized yet, recommends this express route). This wouldn’t require a whole new fleet or massive investment: shifting some buses from the existing No. 25 to a limited-stop bus route could dramatically speed up cross-town trips.
Map of the proposed future Express Bus network. (TransLink)
2. Bus lanes and traffic signal priority at intersections. Reliable bus service starts with giving buses space to move: dedicated lanes where possible, and signal priority at busy intersections.
In places where the road is tight, that might mean removing some on-street parking, which does happen in other areas like on Granville Street between West 63rd Avenue and West 71st Avenue, a tough political choice, but one that shows public transit riders matter.
Right now, buses are crawling through some of the most congested stretches in the region: Boundary Road and Kincaid Street, Nanaimo Station, Kingsway, King Edward Avenue between Fraser Street and Main Street, King Edward Station, Oak Street, Granville Street, Arbutus Street, Larch Street, and Dunbar Street at West 16th Avenue. If we’re serious about improving public transit, we have to address these points directly.
TransLink suggests a bus lane along King Edward corridor, let’s hope we’ll see it soon, and that this together with traffic signal priority for buses at the intersection of Boundary Road and Kincaid Street and at Nanaimo Station will help with the congestion.
Bus route congestion along the No. 25 route in Vancouver and Burnaby. (TransLink)
2. Streets that connect buses with SkyTrain, bikes, micromobility, and pedestrians. A great public transit network is more than just buses and trains, it’s how people get to and from them. That means designing streets that work as connectors, not barriers.
King Edward Station is a good example: the bus stop is right at the entrance, on the route itself, with no detour and loops. It’s a simple, direct connection that respects people’s time. That should be the standard at Brentwood Town Centre Station, Nanaimo Station, and every other bus-train connection across the network.
No. 25 westbound bus stop at King Edward Station. (Google Maps)
3. Urban spaces designed for walking, shopping, meeting, and living, not just moving cars. This is part of the bigger picture: the vital connection between urban planning and transit planning. A big part of a reliable, usable transit network is how comfortable and easy it is to access and use. Even if a bus route is fast, frequent, and on time, if getting to the stop feels unsafe, unpleasant or exhausting, people will be discouraged from using it.
Take the Willingdon Avenue overpass, for example. The bus stop sits on a narrow sidewalk next to a wide, car-dominated bridge. There’s no shelter, no bench, and barely enough space for two people to wait. If more than that show up, pedestrians are forced to step into traffic or squeeze past.
And if you want to cross to the other side? Unless you’re able to take the stairs under the bridge, you’ll need to loop around the entire car access area, adding 10 minutes to your walk. For anyone with a stroller, cart, wheelchair, or mobility challenge, it’s simply not viable.
Our streets need to welcome us. They should tell us through their design that these places are made for people. That means streets and public spaces designed for us to use, whether it’s taking public transit, walking, shopping, meeting, or living.
I know there’s a lot of important work happening behind the scenes, good intentions, thoughtful planning, and strong ideas like the Burrard Peninsula Area Transport Plan and various bus priority projects. But municipalities aren’t moving fast enough to fix the mistakes of the past and give transit riders the dignity they deserve.
Planning and implementation must happen at a greater scale and move faster. I hope to see these promising plans, and many more like them, take shape on our streets soon.
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