TransLink saw its highest ridership Thursday since early 2020.
There were 1.36 million boardings across the TransLink network on June 18, which was the day of the Canada-Qatar World Cup match at BC Place. A typical day would see 1.19 million boardings.
TransLink says ridership growth was “especially strong” in Richmond, Burnaby and the Tri-Cities.
The top 10 stations – excluding downtown stations and FIFA Fan Festival shuttle stations – were Bridgeport, Brentwood, Oakridge-41st Avenue, Burquitlam, Patterson, Gilmore, Inlet Centre, Lincoln, Lafarge Lake-Douglas and Lansdowne. Those stations saw boarding increases between 25 and 37 per cent.
Ridership was also strong in Surrey, TransLink noted. Scott Road Station had an increase of 21.8 per cent and King George Station had an increase of 13.1 per cent.
TransLink added that YVR-Airport Station saw an increase of 23.6 per cent.
Bridgeport Station in Richmond saw an increase of 37.1 per cent in boardings with 13,100
There were 849,100 daily trips, up 18.2 per cent from the typical 718,400.
By mode of transportation, the SeaBus once again saw the highest increase at 66.1 per cent, with 26,600 boardings on Thursday. A typical day would see 16,000 boardings.
SkyTrain was next, with a 25-per-cent increase. There were 561,000 boardings compared to the typical 449,000.
It was followed by bus at 7.7 per cent. There were 769,000 boardings compared to the typical 714,600.
The West Coast Express actually saw a 19.3-per-cent decrease. There were 6,800 boardings compared to the typical 8,400.
Daily unique customers was up 17.5 per cent, with 461,200 people boardings different TransLink services. A typical day sees 392,500.
This was the second time a local match day for FIFA World Cup has led to record ridership for TransLink.
The first match, Australia vs. Türkiye, saw the system’s busiest Saturday since the 2010 Winter Olympics.
TransLink added that a boarding occurs every time someone boards any vehicle, with a trip being a full transit journey from end-to-end including transfers. A ‘typical day,’ TransLink noted, was what ridership was projected to be if the FIFA World Cup wasn’t happening in Vancouver and is calculated through recent ridership patterns and the previous year’s ridership on the same day.