With construction set to begin this summer on C-TRAN's Fourth Plain BRT Project, The Vine, C-TRAN unveiled a new website, www.c-tran.com/thevine, that provides the public its first opportunity to see what the new system will look like and how it will function.
The new site features two simulation videos with the new bus and station design as well as an interactive map that provides specific information for each of the 34 BRT stations.
C-TRAN Executive Director/CEO Jeff Hamm said, "The Vine will provide a high-level of passenger comfort, convenience and safety, while also providing a unique identity that will build community ownership and ridership while improving the visual and economic climate of the corridor by supporting not only transit riders, but also businesses and neighborhoods along the way."
The Vine, set to open in late 2016, will implement a modern, enhanced transit line along the Fourth Plain and Fort Vancouver Way corridors between downtown Vancouver and Westfield Vancouver Mall. It will provide a unique identity with 34 stations that will offer passengers a safe, secure and reliable transit experience, all while improving the visual and economic climate of the corridor.
This new transit line will replace C-TRAN's 4 and 44 routes while improving reliability, mobility, capacity and operations on C-TRAN's highest ridership corridor. The buses will still operate in mixed traffic and will be upgraded to 60-foot low-floor hybrid buses with almost twice the passenger capacity of existing buses.
The new buses will provide level boarding for all passengers, operate on 10-minute frequencies much of the day (15 minutes in off-peak periods and on weekends), and include wheelchair self-parking areas, as well as on-board bike racks. Travel time is projected to be reduced by up to 10 minutes each way.
The Vine will be constructed with existing local, state and federal funds; which means no tax increase was needed to fund it, according to C-TRAN officials, who also indicated that, once in service, The Vine will cost less to operate than the service it will replace.
To learn more about The Vine, visit the new website at www.c-tran.com/thevine.
