Transportation
| Getting Here | Getting Around | |
By AIR
If you're arriving by air, you'll most likely be flying into Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Located just 25 minutes from downtown, YVR is consistently rated one of the best airports in North America. There are more than a dozen international flights in and out of YVR every day, with 22 bound for the United States.
How long does it take to fly to Burnaby/Vancouver, British Columbia? Flight Time Estimates (PDF).
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Airport Bus Service
A regular scheduled airport bus service operates between the airport and downtown Vancouver.
Information on their departure times and pickup locations can be obtained from the Touristinfo staff at the airport, or found on the YVR website.
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By Car & RV
Take your time. Stop along the way. Explore the countryside. Getting to and around Burnaby and Vancouver's Lower Mainland by car is easily accessible, with spectacular views!
Highway 1, the Trans-Canada Highway, accesses Vancouver from points east. If planning a driving tour, allow 12 hours from Calgary and five days from Montreal. Vancouver is only three hours north of Seattle. Take the Interstate 5, which becomes Highway 99 at the United States-Canada border.
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GETTING AROUND
The 2009 World Police and Fire Games venues are centrally located and easily accessible for all athletes. While here, take advantage of all our attractions, shopping, outdoor activities - everything you want to do and see in the Lower Mainland, which again is easily accessible - within walking distance, a short drive, quick ferry ride or convenient trip on our local transit system.
Car Rental
The Greater Vancouver Area is well served by many car rental agencies. Stay tuned as the 2009 World Police and Fire Games will be offering an Official Car Rental Agency for the Games.
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Greater Vancouver Transit
Fares in the TransLink system are the same for buses, SkyTrain rapid transit and SeaBus passenger ferries - and you can transfer between all three modes for the same fare. During regular hours, the service area is divided into three zones. The fare you pay depends on the number of zones in which you travel.
Tickets (called transfers) can be bought on board buses, at SkyTrain stations and various stores - such as 7-11, Safeway, London Drugs, Shoppers Drug Mart as well as some corner stores. Since drivers do not carry change or handle any money, exact change is necessary to purchase a ticket on a bus. However, the ticket dispensers at SkyTrain stations give change and accept debit and credit cards.
Fares are organized by zones. Zone 1 covers Vancouver; Zone 2 covers Burnaby, North and West Vancouver and Richmond; and Zone 3 covers the rest of the Greater Vancouver area. Current pricing is:
- Zone 1: $2.50
- Zone 2: $3.75
- Zone 3: $5.00
All travel after 6.30pm on weekdays and all day on weekends is $2.50.
Other useful tips:
- Children 4 and under ride for free.
- Tickets/transfers can be used for 90 minutes from the time of travel (i.e. first ticket stamp/validation) in any direction, and with any TransLink mode (i.e. bus, SkyTrain, SeaBus).
- Purchasing a day pass ($9.00 adult, $7.00 concession) may be best if you plan on doing a lot of traveling in one day. Day passes are economical for all-day travel, and are valid for all zones on buses, SkyTrain and SeaBus.
SkyTrain Rapid Transit: Daily service every 3 to 5 minutes.
- Expo Line - Trains operate from Waterfront Station to King George Station, and rides along a scenic 28-kilometre track from Vancouver to Surrey in 39 minutes. With 20 stations along this route - 16 of which are elevated and visible from the street - the Expo Line is great for sightseeing.
- Millennium Line - Trains make the same stops from Waterfront Station to Columbia Station, and then branch to the new line back to Commercial Drive Station.
- Each station provides connections to bus services; and bicycles can be taken at almost every SkyTrain station for most of the day. Check the TransLink web site for current restrictions.
Buses
- The Greater Vancouver area features two types of buses. The first type is the "ordinary" bus that most of us are familiar with. The second is an environmentally friendly trolley bus that runs on hydroelectric power.
- Buses run frequently throughout the day, especially in peak periods. Times are dependent on the bus route and can be checked on the TransLink website. Certain routes have a night service, though there may be a gap between the end of the day service and the start of the night service.
TransLink Website: www.translink.bc.ca
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