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NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. — Metro Vancouver's transportation authority says its recovery of ridership that plummeted during the pandemic has been stronger than many other North American transit networks, but still hasn't rebounded entirely. 

A statement from TransLink says ridership across its system has rebounded to 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels after reaching 59 per cent last year. 

The 2021 transit service performance review released Wednesday says Metro Vancouver's recovery rates exceeded those of transit systems in Toronto, Montreal, Washington, Chicago and San Francisco. 

It says bus ridership led the way at 62 per cent of pre-pandemic levels last year, while SkyTrain lines bounced back to between 54 and 57 per cent.

The review says the region that includes Surrey, Langley, White Rock and North Delta saw the greatest recovery, reaching 75 per cent last year.

The West Coast Express route through the Fraser Valley was at 26 per cent.

TransLink says there were 846,000 daily average boardings across its network on weekdays and a total of 224 million boardings in 2021.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 25, 2022.

The Canadian Press