2022-2027 Customer Experience Action Plan
Our five-year Customer Experience Action Plan reimagines the customer journey and outlines a roadmap forward.
TransLink’s new Customer Experience Action Plan outlines how we will deliver transit that is faster and more reliable, easier to use, more personalized, safer and more comfortable, and helps make our communities better.
This is a plan for all of our diverse customers throughout the Metro Vancouver region. We know that each step along the customer journey is an opportunity for us to make a positive impression and improve the customer experience.
See the Customer Experience Action Plan:
View the interactive version
Customer Experience Updates from CEO Kevin Quinn
Stay up to date with messages from our CEO Kevin Quinn about TransLink's Customer Experience Action Plan.
Action Plan Highlights
We’ve changed the way we think about customers.
With market research, engagement with customers and employees, and a review of the best customer practices of other sectors we’ve identified five types of customers who use transit for different reasons.
We’ve tailored our improvements based on these customer types to meet each of their needs.
Building on customer research and a best practice review of trends across industries, we have developed five priority areas for the next five years to improve the customer experience. Read more about each priority and initiatives related to them below.
More Personalized
Tailoring our services to meet customer needs and preferences.
Email Program
Q2 2022
Offer customers the option to sign up for tailored email, keeping them up to date on the things that affect them and their transit journey.
Dynamic Schedules
Q4 2022
Real-time website updates of current online schedules.
Contactless Debit Payment
Q4 2022
Offer customers another payment choice by accepting contactless debit cards at Compass Card readers
Compass for Kids
Q4 2023
Offer a Compass product to support free fares for kids 12 and under and offer tailored information to young customers about safety and services
Compass Modernization
2024
An account-based Compass system will create opportunities for more personalized payment plans and offerings
Improved Text Alerts
2024
Make more information available through text alerts, including elevator and escalator outages
Compass Wearables
Ongoing
More non-card Compass products, making it easier to pay.
Easier to Use
providing services that are effortless and convenient to use.
SCOT (SkyVoice) & PA Replacement
Ongoing
Improve the quality of audio announcements on both platforms and trains, as well as radio systems, for two-way communication with customers
Onboard Information Displays
Q3 2022
Consider how to integrate more advanced information displays on buses
Special Seasonal Buses
Q3 2022
Offer bus trips that accommodate seasonal travellers to regional parks, beaches, and ski hills
Vanpool Program
2023
Add 50 vans to existing vanpool program to serve industrial areas not well served by transit
Multimodal Hubs
Ongoing
Expand facilities and programs for multimodal access to high-volume transit hubs
Timely and Reliable
Ensuring that our riders can rely on transit to get them where they need to go, on time and without hiccups.
Enterprise Asset Management System
Q4 2022
Implement an Enterprise Asset Management System to improve the life cycle management of our assets – including facilities, vehicles, and equipment
RapidBus
R6 Scott Road: Q4 2023
R7 Richmond to Expo Line
Add RapidBus service in Surrey and Richmond
Safe and Pleasant
An environment where riders feel they will have an enjoyable and welcoming experience.
Enhanced Art and Culture
Q2 2022 & Ongoing
Expand and diversify the presence of music and art across the transit system
Bus Facilities Customer Amenities Program
2022 to 2025
Improve amenities at bus exchanges, including shelters, seating, lighting, and information for customers
Bus Shelter Improvement Program
Q4 2022 and Ongoing
Partner with local municipalities and private entities to increase and improve bus shelters across the region
Cleaning and Maintenance Hotline
2023
Add a dedicated contact for customers to report areas of the system that need cleaning or maintenance attention
Community Safety Officers
2024
Create a new tier of Transit Police employees to increase safety personnel visibility and engagement with customers, and improve response coverage for our growing transit system
SkyTrain Fleet Upgrade
2024 to 2028
Refurbish mid-life trains, and replace 40 end-oflife trains, to increase standing capacity, add air conditioning, and provide a quieter ride for customers
Community Policing Centres
Q4 2023
Expand the Transit Police Community Policing Centre program to cities outside of Vancouver, with trained volunteers who can deliver customer outreach, transit safety education, and incident reporting
Escalator Replacement Program
Ongoing
Replace 37 aging escalators on the Expo Line and in select West Coast Express stations to improve escalator reliability and station accessibility
SkyTrain Station Upgrades
Ongoing
Renovate SkyTrain stations to increase capacity; reduce platform crowding; and improve accessibility, amenities, and integration with neighbourhoods
Free WiFi on Transit
Ongoing
Expand the availability of free Wi-Fi on select buses and SkyTrain cars and at key transit hubs
A Better Reason to Ride
Positioning transit as an opportunity to make a difference.
Electrify the Bus Fleet
Ongoing & next batch of buses to arrive in 2022
Replace all retiring conventional diesel buses with battery-electric buses, providing a quieter, smoother, and more sustainable ride
Climate Action Strategy
Q1 2022
Detail how TransLink is taking clear steps to become zero emissions in all its operations, and to enhance the resilience of the transit system in the face of climate change
Indigenous Cultural Recognition Policy
Q4 2022
This policy will provide clarity on the delivery of Indigenous cultural recognition on our transit network and will be discussed with Indigenous Nations
Carbon Footprint Calculator
2023
Develop a new tool for showing customers their carbon savings by choosing transit over a personal vehicle
How We Got Here
TransLink’s last Customer Experience Action Plan outlined improvements from 2019 to 2025. In two years, we:
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Completed 51 out of the 62 – over three quarters of the projects we identified.
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Improved reliability, expanded services, and introduced new amenities.
We delivered new and convenient ways for customers to pay through Tap to Pay, along with improved access to real-time information, and new services such as RapidBus.
In 2020, we had to rethink our strategy.
The pandemic changed the way our customers work, travel, and move throughout our region. This plan follows on the success of our first Customer Experience Action Plan to better reflect the changing needs of our customers as a result of the pandemic.
We surveyed customers, measured trends, and studied best practices during the pandemic to personalize the Action Plan to our customers’ changing needs.
Ongoing Programs
Cleaning and Maintenance Text Line
The Cleaning and Maintenance Text Line is a convenient way for customers to easily report areas that require cleaning or maintenance attention using a simple text message. The Text Line, which is being tested at Commercial-Broadway Station and Surrey Central Station, aims to make our SkyTrain stations more inviting for customers by improving the overall cleanliness standards through the transit system.
By simply scanning the QR code or visiting the URL provided on screens and posters throughout the two stations on their mobile device, customers can generate and send a text message to the TransLink team in just a few clicks to report any cleaning or maintenance issues.
This initiative is another way that we’re elevating the customer experience and making the transit system more welcoming for all. It delivers on an area of opportunity that was identified in TransLink’s Customer Experience Action Plan.
Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain Station
Have an issue you’d like to report for Commercial-Broadway Station? Use the link below on your mobile device:
Note: standard carrier text messaging rates may apply
Surrey Central SkyTrain Station
Have an issue you’d like to report for Surrey Central Station? Use the link below on your mobile device:
Note: standard carrier text messaging rates may apply
900 Bike Bus
We launched a summer Bike Bus program in 2022 to better connect our customers with one of the most popular Metro Vancouver routes for cycling. The retrofitted Bike Buses serving this route have seven interior bicycle racks, bringing the total bike capacity aboard to nine, from the standard two our conventional buses are equipped with.
The extra room means more cyclists will be able to reliably reach the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal from Bridgeport Station via the Massey Tunnel by taking transit.
Next Steps
We are committed to measuring the impact of the investments we are making for current and future customers and ensuring that we continue to listen to our customers in every decision we make.
This Action Plan will be updated every two years as we know customer needs will continue to change and evolve.
Your Ideas
To share any ideas on how you think we can improve the customer experience, please email cxideas@translink.ca.