A Complete Guide to Public Transportation in Vancouver

The Expo Line is the rapid-transit backbone for trips between downtown and eastern parts of the city, continuing through Burnaby, New Westminster, and Surrey. Granville Station is a convenient central access point near major shopping, entertainment, and office districts. The line is especially useful for reaching Stadium-Chinatown, Main Street-Science World, Commercial-Broadway, and connections farther into the region.

The Canada Line links downtown with central Vancouver, Richmond, and Vancouver International Airport, making it one of the most useful services for visitors. Vancouver City Centre Station sits beside Pacific Centre and close to Robson Street, giving travelers a direct downtown boarding point. Southbound trains branch toward the airport or Richmond, so checking the destination display before boarding is important.

The Millennium Line begins at VCC-Clark Station and travels east through Vancouver before continuing into Burnaby, Port Moody, and Coquitlam. For visitors staying around East Vancouver or making regional trips, it offers a useful alternative to routing everything through downtown. Commercial-Broadway provides the key transfer with the Expo Line, while buses from VCC-Clark extend connections toward UBC and nearby neighborhoods.

SeaBus is TransLink's passenger ferry across Burrard Inlet, connecting Waterfront Station downtown with Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver. The crossing is practical transportation rather than a sightseeing cruise, yet it also provides broad harbor and skyline views. At Waterfront, passengers can transfer directly to SkyTrain, buses, and West Coast Express, making SeaBus an easy part of a car-free North Shore outing.

West Coast Express is a weekday commuter-rail service connecting downtown Vancouver with communities east of the city as far as Mission. It is less central to ordinary sightseeing than SkyTrain or buses, but it can be valuable for travelers whose plans extend deep into the eastern part of Metro Vancouver. Waterfront Station is the downtown terminus and provides immediate transfers to SkyTrain and SeaBus.

Vancouver's bus network includes conventional buses, electric trolleybuses, community shuttles, and routes that connect neighborhoods beyond walking distance from SkyTrain. The TransLink Customer Service Centre at Waterfront Station is a useful physical reference point for visitors who need network guidance or Compass Card assistance. For day-to-day travel, route planning tools and real-time arrival information help navigate the large system efficiently.

RapidBus routes use fewer stops and transit-priority measures to provide faster cross-city bus travel on major corridors. The R4 41st Avenue route runs between Joyce-Collingwood Station and UBC Exchange, making it especially useful for east-west trips that do not pass through downtown. Joyce-Collingwood also connects directly with the Expo Line, allowing quick transfers between rapid bus and SkyTrain service.

NightBus provides late-night service after much of the regular rapid-transit schedule has ended. Downtown routes gather around the Granville and West Georgia area, creating a centralized departure district for trips toward several parts of Vancouver and the wider region. Route numbers begin with N, and travelers should check the specific destination and departure point because late-night service does not simply duplicate daytime SkyTrain patterns.

Aquabus operates small passenger ferries around False Creek, linking Granville Island with several waterfront neighborhoods and downtown-adjacent stops. It is separate from TransLink, but the short crossings can be a practical way to avoid a longer walk around the inlet. For travelers moving between Granville Island, Yaletown, and False Creek attractions, the service adds a scenic local connection to the broader transit network.

False Creek Ferries provides another network of small passenger boats serving Granville Island and other stops around False Creek. The service is useful for short point-to-point trips between waterfront attractions, residential districts, and seawall destinations that can be awkward to connect on foot. Because it operates independently from TransLink, travelers should treat it as a complementary local transport option rather than part of the standard transit system.