Transport - Translink Metro Vancouver Review
- rebeccastossler
- Apr 28, 2020
- 1 min read
Definitely room for improvement
3*
In our experience of our time in the U.S.A and Canada, TransLink probably ranked among one of the best public transportation methods, but there is still much room for improvement.
The positives were the relative simplicity of obtaining and using a 'Compass Card' plus the ability to register it and check your balance online, the frequency of their services and the many routes provided, and the price of their fares which wasn't extraordinarily cheap, but neither was it disproportionately expensive.
The major drawbacks:
The Compass Card is refundable ($6CA) but you can only receive this (as a tourist) by visiting 1 of 2 locations in downtown Vancouver that were only open during usual working hours (and then you have to get back to where you came from without the card...).
The automated ticket machines only take pre-determined top-up values so if you just need to stick on an extra $2 you can't, instead you again have to go to 1 of 2 offices where you CAN load whatever amount you want at any increment (why don't they just allow this feature on the machines?)
The fares are somewhat unclear, we read that fares are zoned, and staying in North Vancouver we assumed that the fare for the bus would be applied at a 'zone 2' rate, however the bus fare seems to be the same ($2.40) wherever you travel...
Finally, the buses were occasionally late, which is frustrating especially when it's raining or cold, however we appreciated that they have live tracking so we did know roughly when they'd arrive via Google Maps.
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