Bus

The Metro Vancouver area has an extensive transit network, operated by TransLink. Besides regular bus routes throughout Vancouver and its suburbs, TransLink also offers five rapid bus routes: R1 King George Blvd., R2 Marine Dr., R3 Lougheed Highway, R4 41st Ave and R5 Hastings St allowing commuters to reach their destinations within Vancouver and neighbouring cities faster.

SkyTrain

There are three rapid transit lines: the Expo Line (which travels between downtown Vancouver to New Westminster and Surrey), the Millennium Line (between downtown Vancouver through Burnaby to Port Moody and Coquitlam) and the Canada Line (downtown Vancouver to Richmond and Vancouver International Airport).

West Coast Express

The West Coast Express is a commuter railway that connects downtown Vancouver with its eastern suburbs of Port Moody, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge and Mission. The services runs weekdays during rush hour, heading westbound to Vancouver in the mornings and eastbound during the evenings.

SeaBus

The SeaBus is a passenger ferry service that operates between Vancouver and North Vancouver. It runs between Waterfront Station near UCW’s West Pender Campus and Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver.

Paying for transportation – Compass Card

The TransLink Compass Card is a contactless smart card used for fare payment on public transportation in Metro Vancouver. It was introduced by TransLink to provide a convenient and efficient way for passengers to pay for their transit fares. The Compass Card can be loaded with funds in the form of stored value or can be loaded with a specific transit pass, such as a monthly pass or a day pass, depending on the user’s travel needs. It can be tapped on the card reader when boarding buses, SkyTrain, SeaBus and West Coast Express trains, allowing for a seamless and quick fare payment process. Additionally, the Compass Card system allows for integration with the “Compass Card Account” on the TransLink website, which enables users to manage their cards, view their transaction history and set up autoload for automatic reloading of their cards with funds or passes.

Users can also tap their contactless payment- credit, debit or other devices, onto the card reader when boarding transportation.

Car sharing

Car sharing allows users the convenience of accessing a fleet of vehicles on an as-needed basis. There are two major car-sharing companies in Vancouver: Evo and Modo. Students should note that not all areas of Metro Vancouver have one-way drop-off service.

Ride-hailing

Metro Vancouver has many taxi cab operators and ride share services.

Popular taxi companies:

Popular ride share companies:

Bike Lanes

Vancouver has more than 300 kilometres of bicycle routes. These include bikeways, which are local streets with traffic calming measures, such as traffic circles and reduced speed limits, and signal control to facilitate crossing major roads. Vancouver also has protected bicycle lanes, which are dedicated bike lanes with concrete medians and planters, bicycle parking corrals or vehicle parking lanes that divide them from automobile traffic.

Transportation from the airport

Students arriving at Vancouver International Airport have a variety of transportation options to reach their destination. The Canada Line SkyTrain rapid transit line connects the airport with a number of stations throughout Richmond and Vancouver. The Canada Line connects to other SkyTrain lines at Waterfront Station to reach additional areas around Vancouver. Taxis are often available at the airport to take you directly to your destination. Similarly, students can opt for a ride share service such as Uber, Lyft or Kabu, or rent a car from a variety of companies at the airport.