Downtown Vancouver - Transportation

Transportation

The presence of water on three sides limits access to downtown Vancouver. There are four major bridges: the Lions Gate Bridge, connecting to the North Shore municipalities and the Trans Canada Highway, the Burrard Street Bridge, Cambie Street Bridge, and Granville Street Bridge provides access to the commercial and residential areas south of False Creek.

The historic Waterfront Station is a major transit hub for the downtown core. There are six rapid transit subway stations in downtown Vancouver. The stations are found on three SkyTrain lines, Expo Line, Millennium Line, and Canada Line. The Expo and Millenium lines travel from the historic Waterfront Station at the foot of the central harbour, through the old Dunsmuir Tunnel to the east. Canada Line travels from Waterfront Station and tunnels south under Granville Street and Davie Street, linking downtown to central Richmond and Vancouver International Airport. SeaBus is a passenger-only ferry that connects to the North Shore in 10–12 minutes. West Coast Express commuter rail system that travels to the eastern suburbs and exurbs. Near Waterfront Station, terminals are available for float planes and helicopters.

Most north-south Vancouver bus routes serve the area, in addition to suburban routes from the North Shore, Burnaby, the Tri-Cities, Richmond, Delta, and South Surrey.

The bus rapid transit line 98 B-Line had eight stops in the downtown core, primarily along Seymour Street and Burrard Street. This service was replaced on August 17, 2009 by SkyTrain's Canada Line.

There are two private passenger water taxi operators (False Creek Ferries and The Aquabus), providing service between several downtown neighbourhoods, False Creek, and Granville Island.

The city is planning to extend the downtown streetcar from its current route of Granville Island to the Main Street SkyTrain station, with future plans extending it to Chinatown and then to Stanley Park.