Coast Mountain Bus Company route 246 'Highland / Downtown'
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Service Area | North Vancouver Vancouver | |
Termini | Montroyal Blvd. at Glencanyon Drive W. Georgia Street at Homer Street | |
Operations | Burnaby Transit Centre | |
Vehicles | Nova Bus LFS ![]() | |
Branches | 246 Highland 246 Downtown 246 Marine and Capilano* 246 Marine and Garden** | |
* Late night trips |
246 Highland/Downtown 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 the Capilano Highlands and Edgemont Village in North Vancouver and Downtown Vancouver. Service runs daily every 30 minutes, increasing to every 15–20 minutes during peak hours.
Northbound trips depart Downtown Vancouver from W. Georgia Street & Homer Street heading west on W. Georgia Street through the Stanley Park Causeway and across the Lions Gate Bridge, then east on Marine Drive, north on Capilano Road, east on Ridgewood Drive, south on Edgemont Boulevard, north on Highland Boulevard, east on Montroyal Boulevard until Montroyal & Glencanyon Drive, where it continues as a 249 Lonsdale Quay.
Southbound trips depart from Montroyal Boulevard & Glencanyon Drive coming off of a 249 Delbrook and heads west on Montroyal, south on Highland Boulevard, north on Edgemont Boulevard, west on Ridgewood Drive, south on Capilano Road, then south on Garden Avenue, west on marine Drive, merging onto the Lions Gate Bridge and then through the Stanley Park Causeway and W. Georgia Street to W. Georgia Street & Homer Street.
Some early morning northbound trips start at Capilano Road & Curling Road with no changes in routing.
Two late-night southbound trips terminate at Marine Drive & Capilano Road. The last southbound trips daily and first weekday southbound trip terminate at Marine Drive & McGuire Avenue.
Points of Interest
- Vancouver Playhouse
Stadium–Chinatown Station
- Larwill Park
- Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Vancouver City Centre Station
Granville Station
- Pacific Centre
- Vancouver Art Gallery
Burrard Station
- Stanley Park
- Norgate Park
- Capilano Park
- North Vancouver Public Library – Capilano Branch
- Edgemont Village
- Westview Shopping Centre
- North Shore Neighbourhood House
History
- Circa 1950 - Portion of current route introduced as Capilano Canyon. Operates from Capilano at Marine to Montroyal Boulevard.[1]
- October 1953 - Service introduced as Highland. Route operates from Fell and Marine to Highland and Tudor.[2]
- November 1959 - Service is merged with the existing Capilano and renamed Highland–Delbrook–McKay–Marine. During peak hours, service extended to Vancouver. During off-peak hours, service extends to Park Royal. The eastern terminus of this route was Fell at Marine.[3]
- January 1964 - North Vancouver portion of route renamed 86 Highland. Service operates from 16th St. at Hamilton Ave. (now Capilano Mall) along Westview, Delbrook, Montroyal, and Highland Blvd. to Edgemont Village with a western terminus at Park Royal. Service in the opposite direction is renamed 85 Delbrook; it originates at the Vancouver Bus Depot downtown before following a similar route to the eastern terminus at 16th and Hamilton.[4]
- June 1977 - Service renumbered from 86 to 246 and rerouted/extended to Lonsdale Quay to service the SeaBus
- September 1982 - Off-peak service revised to terminate at Park Royal Shopping Centre[5]
- December 1991 - Accessible service introduced on select trips[6]
- April 1993 - Downtown terminus revised to operate from a temporary terminal on the east side of Beatty Street between Georgia and Dunsmuir adjacent to the Beatty Street Armoury with the closing of the Larwill Bus Depot[7]
- December 1997 - Local service along West Georgia Street to and from North Vancouver approved on a permanent basis after a six month trial period[8]
- May 2000 - Lions Gate Bridge reconstruction: Daytime service to Vancouver temporarily discontinued and revised to terminate at Park Royal for several months[9]
- October 2001 - Due to funding shortfall and low ridership, midday service Monday–Saturday between North Vancouver and downtown discontinued[10][11]
- February 2007 - Downtown terminus moved from Beatty Street to Cambie & Georgia[12]
- February 1–March 21, 2010 - Vancouver 2010 Olympic service: Downtown terminus revised to Georgia between Cambie and Hamilton due to downtown pedestrian corridors and BC Place & Canada Hockey Place venue security zones[13][14]
- June 2011 - Service to Park Royal Shopping Centre discontinued[15]
- September 2016 - North Vancouver Transit Centre closed down, operations moved to Burnaby Transit Centre
- October 2018 - Downtown terminus moved from Hamilton & Georgia to Georgia & Hamilton for unloading, Cambie & Georgia for loading
- September 2019 - Portion between Montroyal Boulevard & Glencanyon Drive and Lonsdale Quay replaced by the 249 to reduce passenger confusion
- April 2022 - Closure of Larwill Park: Downtown layover spaces relocated to Hamilton Street and Homer Street between W. Georgia Street and Robson Street: Starting point moved from W. Georgia Street & Hamilton Street to W. Georgia Street & Homer Street, no longer routing from Larwill Park via Cambie Street to W. Georgia Street
References
- ↑ The Buzzer April 6, 1950 Issue, translink.ca, retrieved 10-12-2016
- ↑ The Buzzer October 20, 1953 Issue, translink.ca, retrieved 10-12-2016
- ↑ The Buzzer October 9, 1959 Issue, translink.ca, retrieved 10-12-2016
- ↑ The Buzzer January 3, 1964 Issue, translink.ca, retrieved 10-12-2016
- ↑ The Buzzer September 3, 1982 Issue, translink.ca, retrieved 18-11-2017
- ↑ The Buzzer August 30, 1991 Issue, translink.ca, retrieved 17-01-2017
- ↑ The Buzzer March 26, 1993 Issue, translink.ca, retrieved 13-01-2017
- ↑ The Buzzer November 28, 1997 Issue, translink.ca, retrieved 29-04-2010
- ↑ The Buzzer May 12, 2000 Issue translink.ca, retrieved 04-05-2020
- ↑ Backgrounder: Transit Service Reductions, translink.ca, retrieved 04-12-2009
- ↑ Service Cuts for October 15, 2001 listed by Route Number translink.ca, archived on Web Archive, retrieved 01-03-2021
- ↑ The Buzzer February 2, 2007 Issue, translink.ca, retrieved 04-12-2009
- ↑ February Bus Re-Routes And Additional Olympic Transit Services translink.ca, archived on Web Archive, retrieved 22-03-2021
- ↑ 2010 Games Bus Re-Routes translink.ca, archived on Web Archive, retrieved 13-04-2021
- ↑ June 20, 2011 Transit Service Changes, translink.ca, retrieved 12-06-2011