I’ve got 99 Problems: UBC’s 99-B express bus line moves a lot of people, but it just can’t move enough.

Back in Toronto I had to deal with some fairly congested transit lines. The route I frequented most, the 505 Dundas streetcar, boasts a daily ridership of about 32.5 thousand people. As one might expect, a decent majority of that volume seemed to travel over rush hour. One or two streetcars would often trundle past my stop in the morning without even slowing down, shadowy figures pressed up like packing foam against the fogged glass.

There certainly are more heavily used over-ground transit lines in Toronto, the infamous 65 thousand person/day 504 King Street line for example, but I was lucky enough to not have to ride them at peak hours too often.

Fast-forward to my first commute into UBC Vancouver campus.

I’ve heard that the best way to get into UBC is to take the 99-B line express bus. It comes about every 5 minutes and features double-length busses. Sounds wonderful! To be fair, it delivers on both of those promises, but what wasn’t mentioned to me was that the 99-B line is one of the busiest, if not the busiest, bus lines in North America. Even though the busses are large and frequent, with a daily ridership of over 55 thousand people it’s not surprising that I have almost never been able to find anything more comfortable than standing room for my 40 minute commute in the morning.

I should be clear here that I’m not complaining; really I’m more surprised than anything. Even though the 99-B arrives more frequently than any other bus I’ve known, it’s still hopelessly inundated with what seem to be almost exclusively UBC students making their way into campus for the day. Of course I’m not the first person to think that, though try as they might, busses just can’t keep up with the tremendous (and growing) demand along the UBC-Broadway corridor.

In UBC’s 2014 Transportation Plan, university administration highlighted the insufficiency of the current transit service and went as far as recommending the development of a rail-based rapid transit line to replace the 99-B. Later on in January of 2017, Translink finally announced that to address it the excess demand Translink will be extending the Millenium Line of the Sky Train down the Broadway corridor (CBC). Have our prayers been answered? Well, sort of. The extension will terminate at Arbutus street, about 7 kilometres away from UBC. While the line will alleviate some congestion, it’s a far cry from the direct line into campus that students are looking for. Personally I’m somewhat skeptical of the overall effect the extension will have on the UBC commuter student experience. It seems to me that extending millennium line only to Arbutus street would only be kicking the metaphorical can down the literal road, at least as far as UBC students are concerned. Even if the line was extended I would expect that the 99 bus would be just as overloaded for the last 7 kilometres into campus from Arbutus as it is currently. I also have my doubts as to whether or not the leg of the journey before Arbutus would be significantly de-loaded considering that for many people it might not seem worth it to get on the sky train for two or three stops and then transfer back on to the 99.

It’s been suggested that the Millennium Line will eventually reach UBC, however no plans have been confirmed for this yet. As a matter of fact, the funding details for the currently proposed extension have yet to be released, so it appears that we may still be a long way off from a comfortable and quick train ride into campus.

With Vancouver’s and UBC’s growing population, it’s difficult to imagine today’s overburdened transit lines providing a viable alternative to cyclists on rainy days or an attractive alternative to those who would otherwise drive into campus. Certainly it would be difficult for UBC to achieve their ambitious goal of having two-thirds of travel to and from campus be made by walking, cycling, or transit without a robust transit option.

As for now, I’ll continue challenging the cultural expectations for reasonable personal space on the 99-B line and hope that I don’t stumble over too many more people in the process.