Langley's Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Route
And the upcoming BRT Open Houses
CBC’s Justin McElroy did this short segment on the Bus Rapid Transit projects planned across Metro Vancouver, particularly focused on the planned Langley Township route down 200 Street terminating at the future Willowbrook Mall Skytrain station.
The segment highlighted some previous transit plans that were changed or cancelled, such as Surrey’s LRT plan, which was scrapped following a change in municipal government in Surrey, and a rapid bus route being stopped at the border with West Vancouver, both used as examples of transit projects that ran into political challenges.
While it’s important to remain vigilant about these kinds of existential threats, I believe the Langley BRT is uniquely positioned to be funded and completed. Unlike the West Vancouver Rapid Bus, the initial planned stops along the route do not significantly impact any existing residential neighbourhoods. In fact, this has been a criticism of the project, in the sense that it is expected to catalyze further urban development and expansive growth along 200 Street rather than serve existing areas such as the 208 Street corridor in Yorkson.
However, there are valid reasons, current and historical for this approach:
The idea of BRT being a rapid north-south connector, rather than an ordinary city bus with more frequent stops able to serve the continuous urban fabric of 208 Street.
The existing - and long standing - width of 200 Street, which allowed Translink to plan this project over the course of almost a decade.
And more recently, the Province’s Transit Oriented Areas (TOA) legislation has made adding rapid transit stations to established neighbourhoods more politically challenging - something which I may explore in a follow up article.
In 2024 we interviewed Reece Martin, known for his YouTube channel RMTransit, for his thoughts on the BRT. He raised concerns that instead of BRT, there should be an ongoing investment into more transit coverage in Langley instead, and we noted that Yorkson/Willoughby doesn’t yet have an east-west bus. However, I get the impression that the hope is for BRT to form the spine of eventual increased transit service in the area generally, one day being able to get people from the eastern edge of Willoughby to their closest BRT stop. It forms one step in a larger paradigm shift; BRT offers an alternative that meaningfully competes with the travel times and convenience of driving your own vehicle, leading to more support for transit in the long term.
Additionally, the reality is that the Township of Langley’s urban area has developed over time into a long north-south corridor, and getting from one end to the other remains a significant barrier and source of vehicle traffic, which a targeted rapid transit link like this can help address and alleviate.
Unlike the proposed Surrey LRT, the cost-value benefit of BRT is more palatable, with the Surrey LRT projected to not be significantly quicker than a bus at the time, while incurring significant implementation and operating costs in comparison to a bus.
Transit advocacy group Movement YVR appeared in the CBC piece, arguing the local culture has become more transit positive. I think this is a fair assessment, particularly as the cost of Lyft and Uber rides have risen significantly, which had previously been undermining political support for transit projects.
Based on the plans, the number of vehicle travel lanes remaining after BRT appears to be a form of “averaging” of the number of lanes along the corridor, where lanes in particularly wide areas like those pictured below are given to BRT, where as areas with fewer lanes will be widened to accommodate BRT.
Translink is holding a series of open houses in Langley and Surrey about this project. You can download the Langley open house boards here to get more of an idea about the project, but for detailed questions and answers, I recommend attending one of the four open houses scheduled in Langley:
Walnut Grove Community Centre
January 25, 2026 | 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
8889 Walnut Grove Dr, Langley, BC
Langley Events Centre
January 27, 2026 | 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
7888 200 St, Langley, BC
Langley Meadows Elementary
January 31, 2026 | Noon to 4:00 p.m.
2244 Willoughby Way, Langley, BC
Timms Community Centre
February 1, 2026 | Noon to 4:00 p.m.
20399 Douglas Cres, Langley, BC
As a Walnut Grove resident I will be attending the Walnut Grove Community Centre open house to learn more and show my support for the project. It’s important to get out there and make your voice heard; you can also participate in Translink’s BRT survey, open until February 8th.
Strong Towns Langley is a community group dedicated to making Langley, British Columbia a better place. We advocate for incremental development, sustainable transportation solutions, housing accessibility, public spaces, and responsible growth strategies. Our group is part of the larger Strong Towns movement, focusing on creating financially resilient and people-oriented communities.
To learn more visit https://strongtownslangley.org