Hello, and thanks for watching! The R2 started on April 6, 2020 while the four other routes started on January 6, 2020. Hence, the R2 was still under construction at the time this was filmed.
1) @3:45 that explains why it’s so quiet when it’s at a bus stop lol (it’s nice that it doesn’t take a few seconds for it to start up again, like with cars and trucks that have that feature) 2) Would be interesting if they added some D60LFR’s onto the Rapidbus routes 👍🏼
Correction: 2 in Coquitlam, 2 in PoCo. Also the R3 bypasses the longer route in Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge taken by the 701 so, you’re right about that one.
The big advantage to these articulated buses is increased passé capacity. Besides, they’re really cool . In some parts of Europe they run tri-articulated buses. Some are even double-decker.
They're gradually being unwrapped. I expect some to stay on, though - gives the artic fleet some flexibility in case any of the yards is short on non-rapidbus artics
My bet is a truncated 99 - There's little reason to build an R9 half-RapidBus with no real-time info and no amenities. Begs the question: will students avoid the transfer at Arbutus by taking 49/R4?
There are multiple reasons as to why TransLink (TL) chose to change from the B-Line. The following is info gathered from multiple sources including planners and internet sources. buzzer.translink.ca/2019/07/introducing-a-new-member-to-the-translink-fleet-say-hello-to-rapidbus/ Your question actually highlights some of the different opinions around the rebranding. I'll list: 1) The B-Line was intended to be a rhyme to the 99 so as to brand the service as some sort of a premium. It's also ingenious because a "Bee Line" by definition is the most direct route between two points. Over time, this faded as the need for more "Rapid Transit" routes came about. 2) The introduction of 4 new Bus-Rapid-Transit routes in the 10-year investment plan presented the chance for TransLink to either re-brand or upgrade the B-Line brand. Critiques: 1) Some argue that such a change wasn't necessary as the name B-Line had already implied that the route was an express. However, this may not be obvious to tourists. 2) The 99 is a special case in and of itself. Since that bus is eventually being replaced by SkyTrain (albeit in 2 phases), TL had two choices: either keep the double branding, or convert everything but risk the brand dilution from not investing heavily into 99 B-Line upgrades since that corridor is going to become SkyTrain anyways. TL chose the former: to keep the double branding and present RapidBus as a more "branded" service with more premiums compared to B-Line. Eventually, the RapidBus brand was decided on as the numbering system was more straightforward and in one place should you need more than 10 lines co-existing at once (so R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R-whatever). The link in the above comment also has more explanation on why the colour green was chosen. Co-incidentally, the current CEO Kevin Desmond was in charge of Seattle's King County Metro as they developed their bus-rapid-transit system, RapidRide. The key to all this is being able to perform these upgrades in the first place due to the availability of funding from all levels of government.
