Independent Surrey-to-UBC shuttle approved

A new bus service began running this week between Surrey and the University of B.C.

The Surrey B-Shuttle, which is run by Beyond Travels Inc., provides a link between 152nd Street and Highway 10 in Surrey, and Walter Gage Road at Westbrook Mall at UBC’s Point Grey campus. TransLink’s board of directors approved the independent transit service last week. It will be allowed to operate until Dec. 31, 2019.

Baljit Singh Chahal, who owns the service, said his goal is to provide a comfortable and convenient service that will motivate people to leave their cars at home, and provide a benefit to the environment.

“I believe if we start these types of services in the Metro Vancouver area, traffic congestion will get reduced,” he said. “(Users) can work while sitting in this vehicle, they have their own personal time. If they are driving by themselves, they are wasting their personal time.”

The bus service makes 12 round trips each weekday and provides hourly service. The first bus leaves 152nd Street and Highway 10 at 5:30 a.m. and the last trip leaves UBC at 6:10 p.m. The bus makes six stops in Surrey, including four stops along 72nd Avenue and one along 84th Avenue. Travel times range from one hour to 90 minutes. Trips cost $10 each way, and are booked using an app.

Travelling between 152nd at Highway 10 and UBC on transit takes more than two hours and involves three buses and a train.