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Coronavirus: Here's how many fewer are taking transit

Thousands of people have avoided taking transit amid the coronavirus pandemic.
corona transit
TransLink says it is following the lead of health officials when it comes to its response to COVID-19.

Thousands of people have avoided taking transit amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The province, for now, has exempted buses and SeaBus from the 50-person gathering limit with TransLink saying there’s “no indication that shutting down public transit in Metro Vancouver would be an appropriate course of action at this stage.”

Dr. Bonnie Henry has called on TransLink to impose regulations to limit the amount of people on buses.

The transit authority has hit social media with advertisements with the message it is closely monitoring the situation and remains in contact with regional health authorities and other transit agencies in order to determine best practices and ensure the response is appropriate.

“At this time, we have not been directed to make any operational changes, however, we are all taking steps to ensure a high standard of cleanliness is maintained in order to reduce any potential risk of viral spread,” TransLink states.

Starting today, bus passengers are asked to board buses using rear doors only.

TransLink also says bus riders won’t have to pay fares until further notice, but fares still apply to other modes of transit including SeaBus.

 

Here’s recent system-wide numbers provided by TransLink:

 

Tuesday, March 17

 -52% below the same day in 2019

Total boardings on Tuesday, March 17: 684,000

 

Monday, March 16

-38% below the same day in 2019

Total boardings on Monday, March 16: 843,000

 

Sunday, March 15

-29% below the same day in 2019

Total boardings on Sunday, March 15: 552,000

 

Saturday, March 14

-23% below the same day in 2019

Total boardings on Saturday, March 14: 726,000

 

Friday, March 13

-17% below the same day in 2019

Total boardings on Friday, March 13: 1,213,000

 

Thursday, March 12

-7% below the same day in 2019

Total boardings on Thursday, March 12: 1,312,000

 

Specifically for Tuesday, March 17:

Total Boardings were -52% below the same day in 2019

Total Bus Boardings were -48% below same day in 2019

Total Expo/Millennium Line Boardings were -54% below the same day in 2019

Total Canada Line Boardings were -59% below the same day in 2019

Total SeaBus Boardings were -69% below the same day in 2019

Total WCE Boardings were -70% below the same day in 2019

 

PLEASE NOTE: A Boarding represents each time a passenger enters a fare paid zone using Compass fare media or other proof of payment. Transfers are counted as additional boardings.

Boardings are available as a system total and by transit mode. This does not represent an amount of people, given that most riders have more than one boarding per journey and more than one journey per day.