image002BC Transit Page

 

BC Transit is a provincially-owned Crown Corporation providing transit service in more than 50 municipalities in British Columbia, except in Metro Vancouver.  It was established in 1978 as the Urban Transit Authority.  Before this, service by provided by BC Hydro.  In total, BC Transit serves 1.6 million customers, and has a fleet of 494 conventional buses and 191 vans and minibuses, in several cases transferring vehicles between cities.

 

image004Coast Mountain Bus Co.

Bus service is provided by TransLink, which is responsible for transit operations in Metro Vancouver (Coast Mountain Bus Company), in West Vancouver (West Vancouver Municipal Transportation), and along a commuter rail line (West Coast Express), serving a total population of 2.1 million.  TransLink has a fleet of 832 CMBC buses and 38 West Vancouver buses—including New Flyer low-floor buses in both 40’ and 60’ lengths in diesel, CNG and hybrid versions, along with NovaBus LFS diesel and hybrid and Orion V buses—150 SkyTrain cars, and two SeaBus ferries which provide service to North Vancouver.  In addition, Vancouver is only transit system in Canada which still operates electric trolleybuses, with a fleet of 244 E40LFR and E60LFR ETBs.  Prior to April 1st, 1999, transit service was provided by BC Transit.

 

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The SkyTrain is a completely automated rapid transit system which operates two lines.  The Expo Line runs between downtown Vancouver and Surrey, while the Millennium Line operates between downtown Vancouver and New Westminster.  Transit systems using similar vehicles include the TTC (the Scarborough RT) and the Detroit DOT (the People Mover). This photo was taken during the summer of 1994.  (Photo by Alain D.)

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5152 was a 1976 Flyer D800, seen in 1994.  These buses were retired in September 1995.  (Photo by Alain D.)

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3165 was a 1982 Flyer D901A, seen from the SkyTrain during the summer of 1994.  It was purchased for Oakridge as 3301, then renumbered to 3165 in 1991.  It was then sent to Richmond as R1158, before being retired in January 2001.  (Photo by Alain D.)

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2712 was a 1982 Flyer E901A.  Like all trolleybuses, this vehicle has operated from Oakridge for its entire career.  This photo was taken in April 2003.  (Photo by the Snapmeister)

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2904 was a 1983 Flyer E902, seen in April 2003.  This bus was based at Oakridge for its entire career, and is shown painted in the CMBC paint scheme.  All these buses were retired in March 2008 after being replaced by New Flyer E40LFR and E60LFR trolleybuses. (Photo by the Snapmeister)

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P4195 was a 1990 MCI TC-40102N, seen in April 2003.  This bus was purchased for Burnaby as 5432, and was renumbered 4195 in Dec. 1995.  This bus was then transferred to Oakridge in March 1997, and then Surrey later that year, and finally to Port Coquitlam.  This bus is painted in the new CMBC livery.  (Photo by the Snapmeister)

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5489 was another 1990 MCI TC-40102N.  It was purchased for Oakridge as 3408, and then transferred to Burnaby as 5489.  It was renumbered as S4252 in December 1995 when it was transferred to Surrey.  This photo was taken in 1994.  (Photo by Alain D.)

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B7129 is a 1995 New Flyer D40LF, seen in April 2003.  This bus is based in Burnaby.  (Photo by the Snapmeister)

 

image013 Victoria Regional Transit System

 

BC Transit Victoria serves Greater Victoria, Sidney and Sooke, with a population of 330,000 using a fleet of 178 buses, including New Flyer D40LF, NovaBus LFS, Dennis Dart and Trident, and Alexander Dennis Enviro 500 buses.  This agency was the first in Canada to order low floor buses with an order from New Flyer in 1991, and it tested hydrogen fuel cell buses equipped by Ballard.

 

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767 is a 1966 GM TDH-4519, owned by the Greater Victoria Historical Transit Society.  In the late 1980’s, this bus was upgraded to T6H-4523N specs, with the extra clearance lights, a Recaro workstation, and power steering.  This bus has now been restored to its original specifications, and is painted in the BC Hydro livery.  (Photos by Rob G.)

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This bus is a New Flyer H40LF hydrogen fuel cell bus tested by BC Transit Victoria during the 1990s.  The high roof contains the tanks used to hold the fuel.  The gases are combined across a catalytic membrane, producing the electricity to drive the bus.  This kind of engine is 50% efficient, meaning that 50% of the energy in the fuel is used to propel the bus (the rest is wasted as heat and exhaust), compared to about 20% efficient for a diesel engine.  (Photo by New Flyer Industries, source The Financial Post)

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9027 is a 2002 Dennis Trident, seen in Victoria in April 2003.  BC Transit is first transit agency in North America to order production quantities of double-decker buses. (Photo by the Snapmeister)

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9035 is another Dennis Trident.  These buses are built with Alexander bodies, and this specific unit traveled to Las Vegas, Beaver Creek, and Calgary for various conventions.  (Photo by the Snapmeister)

 

Small Communities

 

In addition to Vancouver and Victoria, there are another 48 transit systems in British Columbia, ranging from small minibus-based services in places such as 100 Mile House to full-service transit agencies in Kelowna and Nanaimo.  All are affiliated with the BC Government and painted in the provincial fleet livery.  The larger systems use Dennis Darts and Tridents and New Flyer D40LF buses.

 

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6000 is a 1971 GM TDH-3301, originally purchased by the city of Nelson as 118, and then renumbered to 6000 in the 1970’s.  It was owned by the GVHTS from 1993 until 2003, when it was purchased by John M. Day and moved to the TRAMS garage.  (Photo by John M. Day)

 

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