A proposed bus route between Mission and Agassiz won’t move forward for at least another year.
BC Transit informed the Fraser Valley Regional District of the status of transit expansion requests, with the North of Fraser bus route not approved for the 2025-26 Transit Improvement Program (TIP).
According to a staff report attached to Thursday’s (May 22) FVRD meeting, the North of Fraser initiative will be resubmitted for the 2026- 27 program.
“While this is disappointing, it does provide additional time for engagement, more detailed costing and allows for further collaborative planning with the Ministry of Transportation and Transit (MOTT) to ensure that safe and efficient transportation infrastructure e.g. bus pullouts and stops along the Highway 7 corridor is in place once the service is operational,” the report reads.
BC Transit launched a survey and hosted three open houses to gather input on the possible Highway 7 route. The survey opened in April and closed on May 16.
The proposed transit route would run along Lougheed Highway (Highway 7) from the Pioneer and Park exchange in downtown Agassiz to downtown Mission, according to a study presented to Fraser Valley Regional District staff last year.
The trip spans 50 kilometres and lasts 60 minutes while accounting for travel and recovery time.
No public transit services currently exist between Mission and Agassiz, with approximately 3,800 people living along the proposed route according to the study.
The project was included in the Fraser Valley Regional District's transit improvement initiatives for 2024-2027, approved by the board in September of last year. The board directed staff to implement Phase 2 of the feasibility study in November.
“While the implementation date has been pushed back, planned public engagement and other planning activities for the North of Fraser service will continue as this information is needed to finalize the service design,” the report reads.
BC Transit government relations manager Rob Ringma’s letter said approved expansion requests are typically those that have a high potential for ridership growth or are addressing operational challenges that can only be solved with an investment of service hours/vehicles.
“As we go forward, we are continuing to monitor ridership growth and the associated demand for service expansions and working closely with the Province to establish future funding needs,” Ringma said.
The expansion of Fraser Valley Express with 7,100 service hours, three expansion vehicles and 2,400 weekend service hours was approved.
