With the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games underway Friday March 12 to Saturday March 21, that means some changes to transit service in the city of Vancouver.

Remember: as with the Olympic Games, tickets to Paralympic events are also good for unlimited travel on the TransLink system on the date of the event! (Your transit travel has already been included in the ticket price!)

Paralympic Torch Relay, Thursday March 11 and Friday March 12

For the Paralympic Torch Relay on Thursday, March 11 and Friday, March 12, there will be no bus service on Robson Street: the #5 and N6 NightBus will travel via Georgia/Pender and Denman in both directions, all day.

The #17 Oak returned to its regular routing along Robson following the Olympics, but on March 11 and 12, it will turn on Davie to avoid anticipated crowds downtown.

Opening Ceremony at B.C. Place on Friday March 12

During the Opening Ceremony on March 12:

• SkyTrain will operate “event level” service, with 55 trains running on the Expo/Millennium Lines before and after the ceremony and additional trains available for the Canada Line if needed.
• SeaBus will run two vessels following the ceremonies to help deal with crowds, and Coast Mountain Bus Company will have additional buses available if needed.
• Cambie Street Bridge and the Georgia Viaduct will be closed, 10am-Midnight on March 12. So, starting at 7 a.m., the #15 will only serve the south-of-False Creek portion of its route during that time; customers coming into downtown Vancouver will need to use Canada Line.
• Buses to and from North Vancouver will travel via Georgia/Pender to Richards, then to Georgia for the return trip
• Due to the closure of Cambie and Quebec Streets, the C21 and C23 Community Shuttles will be re-routed via Seymour, Pender and Main, returning via Main, Pender and Richards.
• An accessible shuttle bus will provide service for those with mobility issues between Yaletown-Roundhouse Station and BC Place Stadium from 3-10pm.

Reroutes and service for the general Games period, Fri March 12 to Sat March 21

During the Games themselves, CMBC will provide additional service to and from the Games venues:

• 12 additional buses available on the 99 B-Line to and from UBC, where the ice sledge hockey events will be held.
• Accessible shuttles between UBC Loops and Thunderbird Arena, and between King Edward Station and Vancouver Paralympic Centre (for wheelchair curling)

Re-routes in effect during the Games:

• With the Robson Square Celebration Site still in operation, the #5 Downtown and N6 NightBus will travel via Thurlow, Smithe, Burrard and Pender Streets,. The #5 Robson will route via Pender and Burrard Streets.
• NB: The #5 and N6 will continue on re-route via Burrard, Pender, Richards, Robson, Seymour and Pender to Burrard and Robson after the Paralympics and at least through the summer, due to the eventual reconstruction of the “Robson Street Bridge” between Howe and Hornby (Robson Square).
• #50 False Creek South will continue to run along Seymour and Howe until March 21.
• At UBC, buses are still detoured away from Wesbrook Mall. Buses will be approaching the UBC loops via 16th Avenue, Blanca and University Boulevard; and via Southwest/Northwest Marine Drive and Wesbrook Mall, approaching the UBC loop from the north. Community Shuttles will detour via University Boulevard and East Mall. Accessible shuttles will be available between the bus loops and Thunderbird Arena at event times.
• The C21 and C23 Community Shuttles will be routed away from Expo/Pacific Boulevard for the first two days of the Games. They will return to their regular routes when Expo/Pacific Boulevard reopens on Tuesday, March 16.

For more information….

If you have any questions on these services or need help with tripplanning, feel free to contact Customer Information at 604-953-3333.

If you’d like more information about the Vancouver road closures, please see the City of Vancouver’s Paralympic Transportation Plan page.

Remember, you can follow the TransLink Twitter account for real-time service updates during the Paralympics! You can also sign up for alerts to be delivered to you via e-mail or text message. See this post for even more ways to get transit info during the Paralympic period.