Abbotsford council is putting rubber to the road after approving a substantial increase to the city's transit system.

"This is a good news story," Coun. Lynne Harris, vice-chair of Mission/Abbotsford Transit Committee said Monday.

"[The expansion] will make a huge difference in our community for transit service."

The expansion will add a total of 11,700 extra service hours and an extra five buses come July, resulting in an estimated 10 per cent increase to the transit system.

The improvements feature earlier weekday and weekend service to the Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre, and increased services to the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), said director of community planning Carl Johannsen.

"A priority is to improve service to large employers [such as ARHCC] and UFV's U-Pass program. That's a major transit market for us," said Johannsen.

However, all riders will benefit as services to ARHCC and UFV also pass through the city's downtown core, Johannsen said.

"[The changes] improve access for a wide spectrum of riders . . . and will also appeal to those who want to go to the city core to work and shop."

Earlier weekday access for the Valley Connector to Mission and the West Coast Express, and Sunday-level service during all statutory holidays is also in the works.

The city originally planned an increase of 8,700 service hours to the transit system for March.

However, BC Transit offered the city an additional 3,000 service hours in 2011.

As such, council has opted to delay initiating transit improvements until July in order to offer all the new services at once without adversely impacting the 2011 budget.

The net cost for the new services that start in July will be $227,000.

If approved for the 2012 budget, the total additional improvements will cost $454,000 for the entire year, or an additional $166,000 to the projected budget.

Changes to the transit system will be evaluated through on-bus automatic passenger counters (APCs) that help analyze ridership trends and ensure improvements benefit customers and increase the number of customers.

Routes and schedules that don't measure up will be re-evaluated and modified through future expansions.

Beyond the immediate improvements, future transit priorities for the city include increased service to Mission and Aldergrove, a new route to the Abbotsford International Airport and adjacent industrial areas and a possible connection to Chilliwack.

RBaker@abbotsfordtimes.com