As you may know, we’ll be adjusting bus service on September 7, providing connections with Canada Line as well as making regular seasonal service changes.

Our website now has all the info on these adjustments, along with tools and maps to help you understand how routes have changed.

Upcoming Canada Line bus connections

Info about bus connections to the Canada Line can be found on the Connecting Transit Services page in the Canada Line section of the TransLink website.

We’ve also developed an interactive map to help you see which bus routes connect with each station.

Click any of the bus routes on the map, and you’ll reach a page with its route diagram and public timetable in PDF format.

And click the name of any Canada Line station, and you’ll reach a PDF station map showing where the station is, and where local bus connections can be found. (Check out the full list of Canada Line station maps here.)

Remember, all of these changes are effective September 7! If you’re looking for trip or stop info prior to Sept 7, you’ll need to use the Trip Planner or Bus Lookup.

Other September 7 bus adjustments: 3, 8, 160, discontinued service, plus bus bay changes

As well, our website now shows all bus service changes coming September 7. The routes on the list are all linked to pages containing PDFs of their route maps and schedules.

Key changes include the following:

• The 3 and 8 will trade downtown routings to accommodate the interlining of the 3 and 20 routes (that means their routes will be linked).

  Switching these routes around basically adds up to more cost efficiency and schedule reliability.

  Why? Well, the 3 can meet its schedule more reliably than the 8, partly because of improvements from the Main Street Showcase project (like bus bulges and traffic signal priority technology). As a result of the interline of the 3 and 20, the better 3 service will carry over to the linked 20 route, which will be improved to match the 3 service. Another result is that we can now extend all 20s back down to Harrison Loop during all time periods, a very common request from customers over the last year.

  The 8 is also planned to use articulated trolleys starting in December, and not having to go as deep into the downtown core will improve its reliability.

• The 98 B-Line, 424, 488, 490, 491, 492, 496, and C95 will be discontinued, as Canada Line now provides rapid transit service between Vancouver, Richmond and YVR. (Side note: many 98 B-Line buses are earmarked for the 399, Surrey’s proposed new express route, which is planned for March 2010, and may be implemented depending on our funding decided by the Mayors’ Council this year — check out Paul Hillsdon’s post on the 399 for more.)
• To provide better express service between Port Coquitlam to Vancouver, the 160 will no longer pick up westbound or drop off eastbound at five stops along Hastings Street in Burnaby: Sperling, Holdom, Willingdon, Gilmore, Kootenay. (It will still pick-up eastbound and drop-off westbound at those stops.) The 135 route provides full local service at these stops and will receive service frequency and capacity enhancements starting September 7.
• Bus bays at Burrard Station will be reorganized since some Richmond-Vancouver service has been changed. Most buses will depart from different bays on September 7 — here’s a map of the changes.
• The Richmond Centre bus loop bays will be reorganized, moved nearby, and re-named Richmond-Brighouse Station to reflect proximity to the new Richmond-Brighouse Station. Bus route names that have referred to “Richmond Centre” will now refer to “Richmond-Brighouse Station.” Here’s a map of the changes.

If you don’t know, we actually make seasonal adjustments to bus service just four times a year, reflecting major passenger ebbs and flows in April, June, September, and December. Look out for the next set of changes in December!