VANCOUVER, Wash — C-TRAN's rapid bus transit system, The Vine, officially launched its expanded route to Mill Plain Boulevard on Sunday.
On day earlier, local leaders and community members celebrated the official expansion in a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The Vine will serve 37 new stations along a 10-mile corridor between downtown Vancouver and a new transit center near Mill Plain at 184th Avenue. The Vine replaces route 37, which previously served the Mill Plain corridor.
The project received funding from the Federal Transit Administration which provided over $30 million in federal funding, according to a statement from the agency. Agency leaders expressed the value of the expansion and hinted at future growth opportunities.
“It’s such an exciting time to see this important milestone become a reality. We’re thrilled for the new opportunities The Vine will bring to Mill Plain and the larger community,” said Shawn M. Donaghy, C-TRAN’s Chief Executive Officer. “This new line builds on the success of the original Vine route, and we’re not done yet.”
The Vine's first route opened on Fourth Plain in 2017, known as the Green Line, and Mill Plain will be served by the Red Line. A series of other local route changes will also improve connections at the new Mill Plain Transit Center.
Back in 2021, the agency said Mill Plain is Vancouver’s second-busiest transit corridor and believe that The Vine will greatly improve service. Crews broke ground on the transit line in September 2021.
That came after the success along Fourth Plain Boulevard, C-TRAN’s busiest transit corridor, which averages nearly 2 million trips a year.