Downtown water taxi service and other Vancouver, Canada Transportation Tips

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Ship/Boat
Getting TO/AROUND: False Creek Ferries and aquabus are two separate companies offering the same thing: a quick water taxi across False Creek.

False Creek is an ocean inlet (not a real creek) that's located along the south side of Downtown Vancouver. It separates Downtown from Granville Island and Kitsilano. Usually people have to cross one of three bridges to get from Downtown to Granville Island or Kits, but taking these little water taxis are the fun alternatives. They're also the faster option of getting from point A to point B, and who doesn't like a boat ride?

Depending on your starting point and destination, you can expect to pay anywhere from $2.50 to $5.00 an adult to take these little passenger boats across. You have to buy these tickets using cash only on the boat, but they do give out change.

You can pick up these water taxis at the eastern foot of Davie Street in Yaletown, at the southern foot of Hornby Street downtown, at the southern foot of Thurlow Street next to the Aquatic Centre in the West End, at the north end of Vanier Park in Kitsilano, next to the Arts Club Backstage Lounge and next to Bridges Restaurant - both on Granville Island, the Edgewater Casino, and even the less frequented Stamp's Landing and Spyglass Place under the south end of the Cambie Street Bridge.

Downtown to Granville Island is about a 1-2 minute ride. Yaletown to Granville Island takes about 10 minutes. Granville Island or Downtown to Kitsilano takes less than 10 minutes.

These water taxis are privately owned companies and are not a part of Vancouver's public transit system - this is not "the Seabus" nor are they "BC Ferries" and you can't use your bus pass to ride on these. However, you can purchase a booklet of tickets at a discount rate if you intend to be riding these water taxis frequently. As well, they do offer 25 minute False Creek tours if that's what you're seeking.

They are generally open 7 days a week, but check the websites for exact hours of operation.

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Website: www.theaquabus.com & www.granvilleislandferries.bc.ca

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Subway/Metro
Getting TO/AROUND: The Skytrain is Vancouver's light-rail public transit. It's an unmanned, automatic monorail that travels east-west across Greater Vancouver. The skytrain is the fasted method of travelling around Vancouver because the tracks are above ground (with exception to downtown, where they're below ground). As a result, it flies over the traffic and road systems, and gets you across the city faster than any bus or car could.

Unfortunately, while the skytrain is great, it's also limited. Unlike most cities that understand that a good high-speed transit system needs a north-south route in addition to an east-west route, Vancouver decided that after 15 years of their east-west "Expo Line", they needed to build another east-west line, the "Millenium" line. As a result, if you want to travel north or south out of downtown, you cannot take a skytrain.

Currently there are only four stations located downtown: Waterfront, Burrard, Granville and Stadium. These stations take you east out of downtown, through to East Van, then to Burnaby, New Westminster, Surrey, and even Coquitlam. Major attractions that are easily accessible by skytrain are: Science World, Metrotown, and Commercial Drive.

Skytrain is a part of Vancouver's public transit system, Translink. This means that you can use your bus pases, tickets or transfers to get on the skytrain. It also means that you can use your skytrain ticket to get on a bus. The skytrain ticket is only good for 90 minutes after you purchase it. One zone tickets for adults cost $2.50.

Also note that the skytrain is based on the honour system. Unlike London's Tube, or Boston's T, there are no gates preventing you from entering without paying. That means that, if you feel mischevous, you can walk right onto a skytrain without paying. However - and this is a big however - there are always officers hopping on and off the skytrain checking for tickets. If you don't present a valid ticket, you will be fined about $170.

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Website: www.translink.bc.ca

'Mode': TO
Category: Ship/Boat
Getting TO/AROUND: It's quite amazing how many people visit Vancouver for the sole purpose of using it as a departure port city for their Alaskan cruise. Hopefully some of them stick around for a few days to explore Vancouver before they make their way north! Cruises are quite the luxurious way of travelling - generally over $2000 for one person, these things are floating hotel that make their way up to Alaska and back within 6 days. Maybe one day I'll get to experience them! Until then I'll just hang out at Canada Place here and watch the cruise ships sail under the Lions Gate Bridge off into the sunset!

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'Mode': AROUND
Category: Bus
Getting TO/AROUND: The bus is the cheapest and one of the most efficient ways of getting around Vancouver. You do not need a car in Vancouver. The bus can take you to all of the city's main attractions. Most visitors to Vancouver find its public transit service to be excellent and highly efficient. As a user myself, I can highly recommend it for getting around town.

Vancouver's bus system uses transfers. When you board a bus, you drop the exact change ($2.50 for adults, 1 zone) into a little machine by the bus driver. The bus driver pushes a button, and out pops a little credit-card sized paper swipe card with a magnetic strip. Instead of showing the bus driver the transfer when you board the bus, now you actually insert the transfer into the machine, and the machine determines if your transfer is still valid or not.

Transfers normally expire 90 minutes after you purchase them. This means that for 2 hours, you could hop on and off any bus, Skytrain, or SeaBus as many times as you'd like. Once the 2 hours run out, your transfer will no longer be valid, and if you want to board another bus, you'll have to pay another $2.50 fare.

Transfers are handy if you're doing a lot of bus transferring within a short period, however, if you're planning to spend all day taking buses, it might be cheaper to purchase an all-day pass at a 7-11. It currently costs $9.00 for a day pass.

With transfers, it doesn't matter what direction you travel in, but it does matter what *zone* you travel in. The Vancouver public transit system is divided into zones. They're kind of like concentric circles. The further out of the city centre you travel, the more you'll have to pay. Basically, Vancouver acts as one zone. Vancouver plus a neighbouring city, such as Burnaby, Richmond, North Vancouver, etc, acts as 2 zones. Vancouver, plus a neighbouring city, plus an even further neighbouring city acts as 3 zones. Basically, if you only pay bus fare for 1 zone, then your transfer is only good in that zone.

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Website: www.translink.bc.ca

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Other
Getting TO/AROUND: Cabs are very easy to catch in Vancouver, but it really depends on what street you're on. Any hotel will call you a cab if there aren't already some waiting outside. Otherwise, you can catch a cab at almost every downtown street (as long as it's not just a purely residential street). In downtown, you can almost always guarantee hailing a cab on Robson Street and on Granville Street, where they're always zooming by. Outside of downtown Vancouver, Commercial Drive, Broadway, Cambie, and W 4th Ave are relative good places to catch a cab. There's are designated cab pick-up locations by Canada Place on Howe Street at Cordova, and also in South Granville on the north-east corner of Broadway and Granville.

Major Vancouver cab companies are Yellow Cab and Black Top Cabs. Most of Vancouver's suburbs have their own cab companies too (like Richmond Cabs).

All cabs have meters running which determine how much you pay - you don't haggle the price. Also, it's customary to tip the cab driver a dollar or two at the end of the ride. This is not a rule, however, but it's generally a nice gesture, especially if the cab driver was friendly and helpful.

You can usually take a cab from one location in downtown Vancouver, to another downtown location for under $10. It costs about $20 to take a cab from downtown Vancouver to UBC. It costs about $25 to take a cab from downtown Vancouver to the airport.

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'Mode': TO,AROUND
Category: Ship/Boat
Getting TO/AROUND: A fun way to travel between North Van and downtown Vancouver is to take the SeaBus. This is a double ended catamaran passenger ferry that zips back and forth between Waterfront Station downtown and Lonsdale Quay in North Van every 20 minutes. It can carry 400 passengers at one time.

The SeaBus is a part of Translink, the local transit system around Vancouver, and you treat the SeaBus the same way as you would the Skytrain or the local buses.

Because going from downtown Vancouver to North Van is considered a two zone fare, it costs $3.50 on weekdays before 6:30pm, $2.50 after 6:30pm, and $2.50 all day on weekends and holidays.

Once you purchase your fare, you can use it as many times as you want within a 90 minute period. This allows you to ride not only the SeaBus, but the buses and the Skytrain. And no, it doesn't matter what direction you travel in, but after 90 minutes, your fare expires and you'd have to purchase a new one.

There are fare dispenser machines at both SeaBus terminals where you can use cash, debit, or credit card to purchase your fare. The SeaBus is based on the honour system, so they don't have people checking for fares all the time. However, during the occasion when they do check fares, if you don't have it, you'll be fined big money!

The SeaBus has its first departure at 6-6:15am Monday to Saturday and at 8-8:15am on Sundays and holidays. It runs every 20 minutes until its last departure, which is at 1-1:22am Monday to Saturday and at 11-11:15pm on Sundays and holidays. I would still recommend looking at its schedule to confirm exact times.

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Phone: 604-953-3333
Website: http://tripplanning.translink.bc.ca/hiwire?.a=iScheduleLookupSearch&LineName=998&LineAbbr=998