C-Tran’s plans to extend Vine would connect Vancouver Mall and Fisher’s Landing transit centers

The corridor is currently served by routes 30 and 74 with an average ridership of 1,200 people per day. According to C-Tran, 25 percent of people living along the corridor identify as a minority, more than 40 percent are younger than 18 or older than 65, and 10 percent of people don’t have access to a car.

Travel time between Van Mall Transit Center and the Fisher’s Landing Transit Center is expected to be about 35 minutes in each direction. The line will add about 34 bus rapid transit stations.

“The goal is for The Vine on Fourth Plain and the upcoming extension to be interlined, so a rider could stay on the same bus through both corridors,” Eric Florip, C-Tran’s manager of communications and marketing, said in an email. “However, as we’re still a few years out from operating the Fourth Plain extension, those types of scheduling and operational details are not yet final.”

C-Tran’s bus rapid transit lines lack the traffic-signal priority and dedicated lanes found in other systems, although The Vine does have stops with fixtures and raised platforms.

The first line of The Vine opened in 2017 on Fourth Plain Boulevard from downtown Vancouver to Vancouver Mall. The Vine on Mill Plain Boulevard opened in September.

In addition to the extension of the Fourth Plain Vine, C-Tran is planning a new bus rapid transit route along Highway 99 between the Vancouver waterfront and Salmon Creek. Both are pegged to open in 2027.

William Seekamp: 360-735-4530; william.seekamp@columbian.com

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