A Burnaby senior says TransLink is ignoring seniors in the Metrotown neighbourhood by choosing to reroute the number 49 bus line.
Bessie Fong, 66, has lived on Maywood Street for more than 20 years. She doesn’t own a car, so she depends on transit to get to the grocery store, the bank or her medical appointments.
To get around, Fong has been using the number 49 bus, which up until recently, stopped at Maywood and Willingdon.
Now, however, the bus no longer travels from Metrotown, via Central Boulevard, to Willingdon Avenue. That means Fong can get to Metrotown, but she can’t get back home as easily. The closest stop is on Imperial Street, close to Ocean View Cemetery.
A smaller bus, C7, leaves Metrotown and stops at Willingdon and Maywood, but it’s difficult for seniors with walkers, Fong said.
“You get on, you have to climb three steps. They do take people with a stroller or a walker from a door at the back, but then there’s not much room, basically.”
The Burnaby resident said the recent change to the 49 route hasn’t helped her 96-year-old mother, who still rides the bus with her walker sometimes.
“She walked all the way from that stop (Ocean View Cemetery) back up to our place. And it’s a slight incline. She actually pulled her muscle,” Fong said. “For people with disabilities or people on walkers, it’s really tough. It’s not just Maywood, the people at Mayberry Street and Beresford Street have the same problem. There’s a co-op there with quite a number of seniors living there, too.”
She wants TransLink to add a stop to the 430 bus, which travels along Willingdon Avenue en route to Brighouse Station in Richmond.
TransLink spokesperson Chris Bryan said the company rerouted the number 49 bus so passengers could easily access the Metrotown SkyTrain station and transfer between the bus and the train.
“Previously, bus passengers on the busiest routes, like the 49, needed to cross Central Boulevard to access SkyTrain. With this new routing, the majority of bus drop-offs and pickups will occur along eastbound Central Boulevard, adjacent to the new station plaza,” he wrote in an email to the NOW. “The intent of these recent changes is to reduce travel times and increase frequency for the majority of passengers, but we know that each person experiences the network differently. We endeavour to plan changes with as much research and consultation as possible, though we cannot always predict every impact.”
Since route 430 is an express bus, Bryan said adding a stop along Willingdon would impact its speed and reliability for those who use it.
As for Fong’s concern about loading walkers and strollers on a shuttle bus, Bryan said TransLink is currently testing low-floor shuttle buses on the North Shore and plans to buy 59 of them over the next two years. The hope is to use them on routes regularly frequented by seniors and people with mobility challenges.
“These low-floor buses are ‘step-less’ and feature a fold out ramp at the front, allowing people to more easily board the bus when using mobility devices such as wheelchairs, walkers and scooters,” he said.
Before changing the 49 route, TransLink consulted with more than 1,100 residents and received majority support for the change, added Bryan.
“We know that changes to the network often have different impacts on people in different parts of the region. We only move forward with these changes when we feel that the benefits strongly outweigh the trade-offs.”
