Coast Mountain Bus Company route 15 'Cambie / Olympic Village Station'
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Service Area | Vancouver | |
Termini | Marine Drive Station Olympic Village Station | |
Operations | Vancouver Transit Centre | |
Vehicles | NFI D40LF ![]() Nova Bus LFS ![]() Nova Bus LFS HEV ![]() | |
Branches | 15 Cambie 15 Olympic Village Station |
15 Cambie/Olympic Village Station is a bus route operated by Coast Mountain Bus Company in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Route Details
This is a north-south route connecting Marine Drive Station and Olympic Village Station running primarily on Cambie Street. Service runs daily every 15 minutes. It is part of the Frequent Transit Network (FTN) providing bus service 15 minutes or better for 15 hours or more, seven days a week. From June to September, service on weekends and holidays in the afternoons are increased from every 15 minutes to every 12 minutes.
Northbound trips depart Marine Drive Station heading north on Cambie Street and west on W. 6th Avenue where it continues as a 50 Waterfront Station.
Southbound service come off a 50 False Creek South at Olympic Village Station and heads south on Cambie Street, east on SW Marine Drive, and south on Yukon Street to Marine Drive Station.
Points of Interest
Olympic Village Station (Bay 3)
Broadway–City Hall Station (Bay 2 – Olympic Village Station) (Bay 3 – Cambie)
- Vancouver City Hall
King Edward Station (Bay 2 – Olympic Village Station) (Bay 4 – Cambie)
- Queen Elizabeth Park
- Oakridge Centre
Oakridge–41st Avenue Station (Bay 1 – Cambie) (Bay 6 – Olympic Village Station)
Langara–49th Avenue Station (Bay 1 – Olympic Village Station) (Bay 4 – Cambie)
Marine Drive Station (Bay 1)
- Marine Gateway Shopping Complex
History
See also: Trolleybuses in Vancouver
Historically, the 15 was part of Vancouver's trolleybus network from its inception until September 2005 when the trolley overhead along significant portions of Cambie Street was removed for Canada Line construction.
Trolleybus service was introduced in Vancouver on August 15, 1948, with the Fraser–Cambie service with no route number, running from Fraser Street & Marine Drive to Cambie Street & W. 29th Avenue. Wires would be extended further down to 50th Avenue in the 1950s, extending the Cambie service to Cambie & 49th. The service would be extended once again to 64th Avenue in February 1970. This extension of trolley overhead along Cambie Street would be the last trolleybus network expansion until the trolleybus service changes associated with the opening of the SkyTrain as part of various 1986 service changes.
During Expo 86, an additional supplemental service was introduced, running as 13 Cambie. This service ran between Cambie & 49th and the Expo grounds.
As Canada Line construction along the length of Cambie Street was conducted using the cut-and-cover method, trolley overhead was removed and the 15 service was revised to use diesel buses. This was initially a temporary measure and it was expected that trolleybuses would return after the completion of the Canada Line. However, a decision was made following a recommendation from TransLink staff that due to the decrease in ridership expected on Cambie Street after the completion of the Canada Line and an expected decrease in frequency on the 15, the cost of reinstalling trolley overhead and infrastructure along Cambie Street would not be justified. Permanently running diesel buses would yield savings of $2.5 million to $3.5 million.
Route History
- August 1948 - Service introduced as Cambie–Fraser with no route number as part of the launch of the Vancouver trolleybus network. Cambie terminus was located at 29th Avenue.
- 1950s - Service extended south from 29th Avenue to 49th Avenue
- October 1952 - Service numbered to 15 Cambie
- August 1957 - Interlining with the 6 Fraser[1]
- February 1970 - Service extended south from 49th Avenue to 64th Avenue
- April 1981 - Interlining with the 6 Fraser ends and interlining with the 19 Kingsway begins[2]
- November 1984 - Cambie Street Bridge reconstruction: service detoured onto Granville Street using diesel buses and operated express service on Broadway between Granville and Cambie; downtown-bound buses renamed to 15 to Downtown only[3]
- December 1985 - Service returned use Cambie Street Bridge following completion of new bridge[4]
- January 1986 - Downtown routing revised to take Robson, Burrard, Pender, to Hamilton[5]
- May 1986 - Introduction of the 13 Cambie/Downtown, a trolley route running only when Expo 86 is open, supplementing the regular 15 service. Downtown routing via Smithe, Hamilton Pender, Homer Hastings, Cambie, Nelson, and Cambie Street Bridge[6]
- October 1986 - 13 Cambie/Downtown supplemental service discontinued following the end of Expo 86[7]
- September 2003 - Trolley service adjustment, route traded interlining with 8 Fraser/Downtown from route 17 Oak/Downtown. Northbound routing from Hamilton Street, then via: Robson to Granville and interlining with 8 to Fraser, Southbound from Pender at Hamilton via: Pender, Burrard, Robson and Cambie.
- September 2005 - Trolley wires are removed ending trolley service and the interline with route 8 discontinued
- April 2006 - Service rerouted due to construction of the Canada Line; service to route west on Robson, north along Seymour, east on Pender and then southbound on Cambie[8]
- September 2009 - Service is reduced due to the introduction of Canada Line and Cambie terminus moved from Cambie Street & W. 64th Avenue to Marine Drive Station[9]
- February 1–March 2, 2010 - Vancouver 2010 Olympic service: Downtown trips revised to go via Smithe instead of Robson and Cambie trips revised to go via Richards Street instead of Cambie Street due to downtown pedestrian corridors and BC Place & Canada Hockey Place venue security zones[10]
- September 2010 - Service revised to operate along Granville Street from Seymour with the completion of the Canada Line
- April 2011 - Service revised to interline with route 50 Waterfront Station/False Creek South. Service into downtown discontinued[11]
- April 24–May 14, 2020 - Service suspended as part of cost-saving measures due to low ridership relating to the COVID-19 pandemic[12]
References
- ↑ The Buzzer August 23, 1957 Issue translink.ca, retrieved 09-09-2010
- ↑ The Buzzer April 3, 1981 Issue translink.ca, retrieved 16-05-2020
- ↑ The Buzzer November 9, 1984 Issue translink.ca, retrieved 26-04-2020
- ↑ The Buzzer December 6, 1985 Issue translink.ca, retrieved 26-04-2020
- ↑ The Buzzer December 20, 1985 Issue translink.ca, retrieved 26-04-2020
- ↑ The Buzzer April 30, 1986 Issue translink.ca, retrieved 08-05-2021
- ↑ The Buzzer October 10, 1986 Issue translink.ca, retrieved 08-05-2021
- ↑ The Buzzer April 24, 2006 Issue, translink.ca, retrieved 23-04-2010
- ↑ September 7, 2009 bus adjustments 3, 8, 160 discontinued service, plus bus bay changes, buzzer.translink.ca, retrieved 07-09-09
- ↑ February Bus Re-Routes And Additional Olympic Transit Services translink.ca, archived on Web Archive, retrieved 22-03-2021
- ↑ The Buzzer April 1. 2011 Issue, translink.ca, retrieved 28-12-2017
- ↑ TransLink implements cost saving measures The Buzzer, retrieved 22-04-2020