New Westminster station nabs top 10 spot in TransLink's list of busiest hubs

The latest round of numbers looking at passenger boardings are out from TransLink – and New Westminster station managed to crack the top 10.

Measurements are based on taps through the Compass Card system, with data collected during the fall 2021 quarter.  

New Westminster transit points by the numbers:

• New West Station: 783,000

• 22nd Street: 532,200

• Columbia: 223,600

• Braid: 212,300

• Sapperton: 144,300

Of the five New Westminster-based stations, New Westminster clocked in 783,000 taps, while Sapperton had the fewest at 144,300. For comparison’s sake, the busiest station along the network is Waterfront, which saw 726,100 taps.

“It’s all based on boardings,” explains spokesperson Dan Mountain. “Every time someone taps into the fare gates at New Westminster station, it logs it.” Mountain says the position on the list is based on all stations across the network, including ones on other lines. “That means between the Millennium Line, the Expo Line, Canada Line and even the West Coast Express [New Westminster station came in seventh]. It’s a pretty strong position.”

Mountain says New Westminster station has almost always been on TransLink’s top 10 list; in 2019 it came in at number eight. “It’s definitely pretty busy, since it’s surrounded by a lot of density.”

While Columbia didn’t crack the top 10, Mountain acknowledges that the station is also fairly busy. “Yes, it’s a very important transfer point on our system, but when people transfer at Columbia they don’t tap their Compass Card, whether they’re going to Surrey or coming from Surrey.” Mountain says it certainly has the potential to be busier than the Columbia Station tap numbers suggest.

He does note, however, that Columbia is in the early stages of planning for an upgrade. “We usually start with a feasibility study to look at the traffic flow and how many customers use it. Then we usually look at how old it is, and what are the future projections for the station.” Columbia was built in the late ’80s, and was previously called 4th Street Station.

Overall, Mountain agrees New Westminster Station is a pretty consistent performer, whereas other stations like Braid and Sapperton tend to tap a bit lower. “I know that there’s more bus service that serves places like Braid, New West and Columbia, so it really just comes down to density and where people live, for the most part.”

Mountain says ridership has continued to rebound across all modes on the system since the pandemic, and that the trend in New West is fairly similar to the other stations. Bus ridership has continued to lead the way for transit recovery.

“At the end of last year, it was 62% compared to the system-wide average of 59%. Now it’s above the 70% range.”