Buses
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The Vancouver Bus System: (Info on Whistler service is found in that section, see Airport section for
Victoria)
Vancouver's bus system is very extensive, extending
50-70 Km out from the city centre to Langley in the east and the US border to
the south. Service to downtown from any area is quite good, although it is not so easy to
get from suburb to suburb. West Vancouver has its own system (The Blue buses)
which you catch downtown on Georgia Street. The fares are the same and you can
transfer from one system to the other. Most buses downtown are electric trolley
buses. There are also fast buses to the outer suburbs, which feature limited
stops, and what Translink call "B-Lines". These are fast articulated buses,
running in their own dedicated lanes for part or all of their routes. Many of
these are temporary measures until planned Skytrain routes are completed. Mini
buses are also being introduced on some suburban routes with lower ridership. Buses
are generally like those pictured above, although the colour
scheme is changing to Blue & Yellow. This is not happening
overnight, so Vancouver Transit vehicles are currently a mishmash
of differing colours. They have also, on occasion, borrowed excess rolling
stock from Washington State, so some may not appear as obvious Vancouver
city buses. You may purchase monthly passes or books of tickets for the
entire transit system. The tickets are available in several stores and come in
books of ten. they will save you about 10%. Note that when paying cash you need
the exact fare. Keep your ticket as a transfer if you are changing to the Skytrain, Seabus or another bus.
They are now electronically validated in machines when you board a bus and are
good for 90 minutes from time of issue. 90 minutes is sometimes not sufficient
if your connections are poor or a scheduled bus fails to show, but most drivers
seem understanding if you explain the circumstances to them. Considering it is a
high stress job, I have found bus drivers in Vancouver to be more courteous than
those in other cities, on the whole.
Public Transit Links:
