With nearly 375 affected bus stops on 18 impacted routes and several rider fare adjustments, C-Tran is about to make the largest change to its services in a decade — and it’s all happening in the first week of September.
“Mak(ing) transit really more accessible to everyone, that’s the reason why we do this,” said C-Tran Spokeswoman Christine Selk of the service changes that take effect Sunday.
The majority of route changes are adjustments to existing routes. Perhaps the greatest change comes to Portland-bound commuters. Route 44 is being discontinued completely. Route 4 will no longer serve Delta Park or Jantzen Beach. Instead riders will have to get off in downtown Vancouver and transfer onto the new Route 60.
“Making another connection will increase commute times from Delta Park. However, it’s also the nature of the route itself,” Selk said in an email. “When you have a route that goes off-schedule due to traffic and bridge lifts, it can be a challenge to keep all those buses on time.”
Part of those changes is to prepare for The Vine, Vancouver’s bus rapid transit system which is supposed to come online at the end of the year.
Another big change will affect the Fruit Valley neighborhood. The new Route 6 would loop through the neighborhood every 30 minutes and offer direct service to grocery stores.
Linda Garcia, community outreach coordinator with the Fruit Valley Foundation, said residents in her neighborhood who have a history of pushing C-Tran for more services are cautiously optimistic about the changes.
“It’s hard not to speak out of negativity when there’s been so many years of being ignored or being oppressed — it’s hard to step out of that and hard to say we’re going to embrace this whole heartedly before we know anything about it,” she said.
“A few challenges and obstacles aren’t going to be met, but it’s a good start to see if ridership is going to be increased down here — particularly since it goes to a grocery store,” she added.
Route 19 riders will also notice some big changes. Buses will go through Mount Vista residential areas and better serve nearby medical clinics, but they won’t drive through Washington State University Vancouver’s campus. Instead they’ll service a stop about 1,000 feet away. However, the campus will now get weekend service.
At the May C-Tran Board of Directors meeting, several students and a few faculty members spoke out against the plans to shift buses away from the campus.
Washington State University Vancouver Director of Marketing and Communications Brenda Alling said the school has wanted weekend service for a long time.
“We’re also understanding of the social justice mission C-Tran was trying to accomplish by better serving the nearby medical centers,” she said. But she acknowledges the changes mean a longer walk for regular users and alternative rides or paratransit services for disabled students.
“There’s two side of this coin, and we definitely see both sides of it,” she said.
Selk said to make the transition as smooth as possible, C-Tran has signage on the entire fleet reminding riders of the changes, posted notices on affected stops and reminding customers when they purchase monthly passes.
Staff will also be at the Broadway and Evergreen Street stop in downtown Vancouver from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday and on Tuesday, Sept. 6, to help riders navigate the changes.
Additionally, travel ambassadors will be riding Routes 4 and 44 on Wednesday and Thursday reminding people of the changes.
The changes to the routes were first proposed in January, and in the subsequent months C-Tran’s staff held multiple public meetings, fielded hundreds of comments on the changes and further refined the routes.
On Thursday, riders wanting to cross the Columbia, including Parkrose, Delta Park, and Jantzen Beach, will have to pay All Zone/Regional fares. Honored Citizen monthly passes will decrease to $28. However, the regional all-zone day pass for seniors, disabled people and youths will jump from $2 to $2.50.
C-Tran has information about all of the routes affected by the service change available online at: http://bit.ly/2bn0MEi
Anyone needing assistance planing trips can also call: 360-695-0123.
