Coast Mountain Bus Company SeaBus

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Locale Metro Vancouver, British Columbia
Waterway Burrard Inlet
Type Passenger ferry
Termini Waterfront
Lonsdale Quay
Operations
Owner TransLink (1999–present)
BC Transit (1982–1999)
Urban Transit Authority (1979–1982)
BC Hydro Transit (1977–1979)
Operator Coast Mountain Bus Company
(1999–present)
BC Transit (1982–1999)
Metro Transit Operating Company
(1979–1982)
BC Hydro Transit (1977–1979)
Launched June 17, 1977
Technical
System length 1.75-nautical-miles (3.24 km)
No. of lines 1
No. of vessels 4

SeaBus is a passenger ferry service operated by Coast Mountain Bus Company, a subsidiary of TransLink in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

History

The first recorded ferry service across Burrard Inlet was in 1866, with a hand-propelled boat. Formal ferry service across Burrard Inlet began in 1903 with the establishment of the North Vancouver Ferry and Power Company. The City of North Vancouver took over the service in 1908 to provide more reliable service between Downtown Vancouver and North Vancouver. After the Lions Gate Bridge was completed in 1938, demand decreased for ferry service. However, demand increased after the outbreak of World War II because of an increased amount of laborers travelling to North Vancouver to the shipbuilding yards.

Demand declined in the 1950s and service ceased after the last sailing on August 30, 1958. There were plans to build a tunnel underneath the Burrard Inlet as part of a freeway program. After the freeway plan was scrapped, funding went to establish a passenger ferry service and was proposed by the Provincial Government of British Columbia. In August 1974, the Bureau of Transit Services and the British Columbia Department of Municipal Affairs sought multiple proposals from naval architecture firms to design and build the ferries and terminals. To gain first-hand knowledge of operating a passenger ferry service, the government and members of the port authority studied operations in Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong as its conditions were similar to Burrard Inlet: a deep water harbour with a mix of heavy cargo traffic and passenger ferry service.

The service was launched on June 17, 1977, under the transit division of BC Hydro. Following the restructuring of transit operations in BC Hydro, the Urban Transit Authority and its operations subsidiary, Metro Transit Operating Company, took over in 1979 before being renamed to BC Transit in 1982. Finally, operations and ownership was passed over to TransLink/Coast Mountain Bus Company in 1999.

In 1989, there was a proposal to introduce marine transit service from Waterfront to Port Moody, with implementation as early as 1991. The study considered the use of fast ferries traveling at 30 to 40 knots, carrying up to 300 people with a crossing time of about 30 minutes.[1] The plan was later abandoned following the introduction of West Coast Express services in 1995. There was also a plan to procure a third SeaBus vessel by 1994 as well as a potential marine connection from Waterfront Station to West Vancouver.

Due to a decrease in ridership and for financial reasons caused by COVID-19, peak hour service was reduced form every 10 minutes to 15[2] with further reductions to an all-day 30-minute sailing schedule on April 6, 2020.[3] On April 22, daily evening service was cut with last sailings at 7:30pm from Lonsdale and 7:45 from Waterfront.[4] On May 18, the regular hours of operation were restored but frequency remained at every 30 minutes. Peak hour frequency was adjusted to every 15 minutes on July 13. On September 7, 2021, 10-minute service on the SeaBus crossing was reinstated.

Route Details

Connecting Waterfront Station in Vancouver and Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver, the SeaBus crosses the Burrard Inlet in a 10-12 minute crossing.

The SeaBus connects Waterfront Station and Lonsdale Quay.

Service runs 7 days a week from early morning to late evening. There are three vessels in the fleet, with two in service and one as a spare. Cruising at approximately 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h) service operates on a 15 minute turn-around schedule, with 3-5 minutes allocated to loading and unloading at each terminal. There are approximately over 50 crossing per day.

The crossing offers panoramic scenery from multiple angles of Burrard Inlet, Downtown Vancouver, the North Vancouver and the North Shore mountains.

There are turnstiles located at each terminal that lock once capacity is reached for each sailing.

Safety Features

On board each SeaBus vessel, lifejackets are available under each seat with children's lifejackets in marked lockers and distributed by crew members in the event of an emergency. Each vessel has three muster stations, each containing a 150-persons life raft.

Fares

Main article: TransLink Fares

The SeaBus is a 2-zone journey and zones are in effect on weekdays until 6:30pm. Discount periods, where the crossing is only a 1-zone fare, are all day Saturdays, Sundays/Holidays and weekdays after 6:30pm.

All fares must be valid while on a TransLink vehicle – those without a proper fare are subject to a $173 infraction.

Fleet

There are currently 4 vessels in fleet. The fleet is maintained directly west of the Lonsdale Quay terminal in North Vancouver. The vessels are catamarans constructed out of aluminum, which was considered rare at the time of the launch in 1977 of the original vessels. As the vessels are double-ended, there is no need to turn around when departing the terminals and vessels can travel in any direction. There are four diesel engines on board each vessel, one for each propeller.

Service reliability is over 99.9% and rarely any sailings are cancelled.

All vessels are in the current TransLink charcoal livery. The Burrard Otter carried the "sweep" livery into retirement in 2016.

Active

Name Thumbnail Year Port of Registry Manufacturer Notes
Burrard Beaver 1976 Victoria, BC Yarrows Shipbuilders Ltd.
Victoria, BC
  • Spare vessel[5]
Burrard Pacific Breeze 2009 Victoria, BC Victoria Shipyards
Victoria, BC
  • Started three boat ownership for CMBC
Burrard Otter II 2014 Vancouver, BC Damen Shipyards Group
Singapore
  • Entered service on December 1st, 2014
Burrard Chinook 2019 Vancouver, BC Damen Shipyards Group
Gorinchem, Netherlands
  • Equipped with USB charging ports[6]
  • Entry into service delayed by need for modifications to be suitable for service in Metro Vancouver[7]
  • Entered service on July 22, 2021

Retired

Name Thumbnail Year Port of Registry Manufacturer Notes
Burrard Otter 1976 Victoria, BC Burrard Dry Dock Ltd.
Vancouver
  • First to be retired
  • Scrapped in 2018

Service Information

Service on the SeaBus runs 7 days a week.

Service Frequency

Effective April 22, 2020, sailings are every 30 minutes daily and effective July 13 2020, peak hour sailings are every 15 minutes. 10-minute freqencies were reinstated on September 7, 2021.

Departing Waterfront

Day Time Frequency
Monday to Friday 6:16 a.m. to 7:01 a.m. 15 mins.
7:01 a.m. to 9:01 a.m. 10 mins.
9:01 a.m. to 3:01 p.m. 15 mins.
3:01 p.m. to 6:01 p.m. 10 mins.
6:01 p.m. to 9:16 p.m. 15 mins.
9:16 p.m. to 1:22 a.m. 30 mins.
Saturday 6:16 a.m. to 7:16 a.m. 30 mins.
7:16 a.m. to 9:16 p.m. 15 mins.
9:16 p.m. to 12:46 a.m. 30 mins.
Sunday/Holiday 8:16 a.m. to 9:16 p.m. 15 mins.
9:16 p.m. to 11:16 p.m. 30 mins.

Departing Lonsdale Quay

Day Time Frequency
Monday to Friday 6:02 a.m. to 7:02 a.m. 15 mins.
7:02 a.m. to 9:02 a.m. 10 mins.
9:02 a.m. to 3:02 p.m. 15 mins.
3:02 p.m. to 6:02 p.m. 10 mins.
6:02 p.m. to 9:02 p.m. 15 mins.
9:02 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. 30 mins.
Saturday 6:02 a.m. to 7:02 a.m. 30 mins.
7:02 a.m. to 9:02 p.m. 15 mins.
9:02 p.m. to 12:32 a.m. 30 mins.
Sunday/Holiday 8:02 a.m. to 9:02 p.m. 15 mins.
9:02 p.m. to 11:02 p.m. 30 mins.

First/Last Sailings

Departing Waterfront

Day First SeaBus Last SeaBus
Monday to Friday 6:16 a.m. 1:22 a.m.
Saturday 6:16 a.m. 1:22 a.m.
Sunday/Holiday 8:16 a.m. 11:16 p.m.

Departing Lonsdale Quay

Day First SeaBus Last SeaBus
Monday to Friday 6:02 a.m. 1:00 a.m.
Saturday 6:02 a.m. 1:00 a.m.
Sunday/Holiday 8:02 a.m. 11:02 p.m.

References

v·d·e
Transit Centres BurnabyHamiltonPort CoquitlamRichmondSurreyVancouver
Closed Transit Centres North VancouverOakridge
Under Contract First TransitWest Vancouver Transit
Former Contractors Bonny's Taxi Ltd.Bowen Island Community TransitDW Services Ltd.Metro Shuttle Service Ltd.First Canada
Current Fleet

2101–2199, 2201–2289 2501–2540 2541–2574 3309–3358 7447–7499, 7501–7504 8118–8156 9277–9285 9401–9499, 9501–9542 9543–9581, 9583–9590 9605–9699, 9701–9725 9726–9791 9797–9799 12001–12025 14001–14045 15001–15021 16001–16051 16101–16130, 16137 16201–16226 18001–18063 18101–18206 18301–18404 18451–18473 19001–19047 19101–19147 19301–19302 19303–19304 19401–19432 21001–21025 21401–21425 22001–22015 23001–23015 23201–23215 24001–24016 24101–24150

Community Shuttle Fleet 19503–19535, 19538–19549 19550–19554 21501–21562 23601–23606 23651–23665 24506–24548 24601–24634
Retired Fleet 1158–1192 1205–1223 1209–1210 2701–2947 3001–3021 3101–3210 3211–3257 3258–3282 3283–3299, 3301–3308 4101–4115 4116–4143 4144–4192 4193–4199, 4201–4278 5501–5508 5509–5521 6601–6630 7101–7150 7151–7197, 7199–7243 7244–7246 7247–7297 7298 7301–7374 7375–7399, 7401–7429 7430–7446 8001–8021 8022–8047 8048–8099, 8101 8102–8117 9101–9115 9116–9127 9201–9276
Retired Community Shuttle Fleet S001 S002 (1st) S002 (2nd) S003–S004 S006–S012 S013–S016 S017 S018–S056 S057–S059 S060–S061 S062–S102 S200–S236 S237–S257 S258–S301 S302–S356 S357–S380 S381 S382–S393 S410–S434 S435–S464 S465–S471 S501–S544 S1301–S1320 S1321 S1322–S1325 16501–16562 17506–17564 18510–18527
Paint Schemes BC Transit paint scheme Original B-Line paint scheme New B-Line paint scheme Clean Air Bus paint scheme Ghost paint scheme RapidBus paint scheme Sweep paint scheme Sweep-R paint scheme Blue Sweep-R paint scheme Sweep-R Without Charcoal Suburban paint scheme Suburban grey paint scheme
Other List of Current TransLink Ad-WrapsList of Former TransLink Ad-WrapsRapidBusTransLink Operations During the COVID-19 PandemicTransLink Vancouver 2010 Olympic OperationsTrolleybuses in Vancouver
SeaBus SeaBus
Current Fleet Burrard BeaverBurrard Pacific BreezeBurrard Otter IIBurrard Chinook
Retired Fleet Burrard Otter
Terminals R2 Marine Dr Lonsdale QuayCanada LineExpo LineR5 Hastings St Waterfront Station
Bus Loops and Exchanges
Vancouver Expo Line 29th Avenue StationBlanca Loop99 B-Line Boundary LoopExpo LineR5 Hastings St Burrard StationExpo LineMillennium Line99 B-Line Commercial–Broadway StationR4 41st Ave Dunbar LoopExpo LineR4 41st Ave Joyce StationKnight Street–Marine DriveR5 Hastings St Kootenay LoopExpo Line Main Street StationCanada Line Marine Drive StationMarpole LoopExpo Line Nanaimo StationStanley Park LoopR4 41st Ave99 B-Line UBC ExchangeCanada LineExpo LineSeaBusR5 Hastings St Waterfront Station
Burnaby &
New West
Expo Line 22nd Street StationExpo Line Braid StationMillennium Line Brentwood StationExpo Line Edmonds StationExpo LineMillennium Line66 Fraser Valley Express Lougheed StationExpo Line New Westminster StationExpo LineMillennium Line Production Way StationExpo Line Metrotown StationR5 Hastings St SFU ExchangeMillennium Line Sperling Station
Tri-Cities Millennium Line Burquitlam StationMillennium LineR3 Lougheed Hwy Coquitlam Central StationMillennium Line Moody Centre Station Port Coquitlam Station
Richmond Canada Line Bridgeport StationCanada Line Richmond–Brighouse StationSteveston Exchange
North Shore Capilano UniversitySeaBusR2 Marine Dr Lonsdale QuayLynn Valley CentreR2 Marine Dr Park RoyalR2 Marine Dr Phibbs Exchange
Pitt Meadows
& Maple Ridge
R3 Lougheed Hwy Haney Place Maple Meadows Station Pitt Meadows Station
South of Fraser 66 Fraser Valley Express Carvolth ExchangeR1 King George Blvd Guildford ExchangeLadner ExchangeLangley CentreR1 King George BlvdR6 Scott Rd Newton ExchangeExpo LineR6 Scott Rd Scott Road StationScottsdale ExchangeSouth Delta ExchangeSouth Surrey Park and RideExpo LineR1 King George Blvd Surrey Central StationWhite Rock Centre
Former Exchanges Airport StationBrentwood MallCoquitlam StationCoquitlam Recreation CentreCoquitlam Town CentreEast Guildford Park and RideLougheed MallLougheed Park and RideMatthews ExchangeMeadow Ridge CentrePitt Meadows Park and RidePort Moody StationPNE Park and RidePort Coquitlam CentreRenfrew LoopRichmond CentreRichmond ExchangeSexsmith Park and RideSouth Richmond Park and RideUpper Zoo LoopWalnut Grove Park and Ride
Routes
R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6
Conventional

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 14 15 16 17 19 20 22 25 26 27 28 29 32 33 41 44 49 50 80 84 99 100 101 104 106 110 112 116 119 123 128 129 130 133 134 136 143 144 145 150 151 152 153 155 156 159 160 179 183 188 191 209 210 211 212 222 228 229 230 231 232 236 240 241 245 246 247 249 250 253 254 255 257 301 310 311 312 314 316 319 320 321 323 324 325 326 329 335 337 340 341 342 345 350 351 352 354 364 375 388 391 393 394 395 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 410 418 430 480 501 502 503 509 531 555 595 601 602 603 604 606 608 620 640 701 791 900

Community Shuttle 23 31 42 68 102 103 105 109 131 132 146 147 148 157 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 180 181 182 184 185 186 187 189 214 215 227 251 252 256 262 280 281 282 322 360 361 362 363 370 371 372 373 412 413 414 416 560 561 562 563 564 609 614 616 618 619 719 722 733 741 743 744 745 746 748 749
NightBus N8 N9 N10 N15 N17 N19 N20 N22 N24 N35
School Trips 840 855 864 865 880 881
Discontinued/ Renumbered 1 23 35 42 43 51 70 95 96 97 98 102 103 108 114 115 125 131 133 135 137 139 142 147 148 149 150 154 158 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 177 178 179 189 190 197 222 226 226 239 242 258 259 274 290 292 310 317 318 328 330 332 353 355 356 357 358 390 411 420 421 424 425 488 490 491 492 496 506 507 511 590 617 705 709 712 721 722 804 807 828 848 861 863 C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C15 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28 C29 C30 C31 C35 C36 C37 C38 C40 C41 C43 C44 C45 C46 C47 C48 C49 C50 C51 C52 C53 C60 C61 C62 C63 C64 C70 C71 C73 C74 C75 C76 C84 C86 C87 C88 C89 C90 C92 C93 C94 C95 C96 C98 C99 N6 N16Games ExpressMetrotown ShuttleNorth Vancouver Games ExpressSexsmith Park & Ride Shuttle TrainBus