Commuters will notice bright red paint at a handful of busy bus stops this fall as the City of Vancouver and TransLink pilot an awareness campaign for bus-only zones.

One of the things that delays buses in Vancouver and the wider region are vehicles stopped at bus stops. This makes it difficult for buses to pull into bus stops and let transit riders out safely, causing delays for the thousands of Vancouver residents who rely on transit every day.

The brightly painted red zones act as a visual deterrent and are becoming an industry standard in North America as municipalities and transit agencies work to keep buses moving amidst increasing congestion.

Over the next few weeks, City of Vancouver crews will install red zones at five busy bus stops:

East and westbound stops at Cambie and Broadway

Northbound on Commercial at Broadway

Westbound on Broadway at Commercial

East and westbound on Pender at Granville

East and westbound on Georgia at Burrard

These stops were chosen for the pilot because of the high volume of bus passengers they serve and the frequency of bus-lane violations in these areas.

City of Vancouver and TransLink plan to run the pilot throughout the winter and evaluate its effectiveness in the spring.