98 B-Line | |||
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Overview | |||
System | TransLink | ||
Operator | Coast Mountain Bus Company | ||
Vehicle | New Flyer Industries D60LF | ||
Began service | September 4, 2000 | ||
Ended service | September 7, 2009 | ||
Route | |||
Start | Burrard Station | ||
End | Brighouse (Steveston & Shell, evenings and morning only) | ||
Length | 16 km (9.9 mi) | ||
Stops | 22 | ||
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The 98 B-Line was a bus rapid transit line [1] [2] in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, that began service in September 2000. It linked Richmond to Downtown Vancouver, with a connection to Vancouver International Airport. It travelled mainly along Granville Street in Vancouver and a dedicated bus lane on No. 3 Road in Richmond. It was operated by Coast Mountain Bus Company and was funded by TransLink. The route was 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) long. The line carried over 18,000 passengers daily. [3] It was discontinued in September 2009, shortly after the opening of the Canada Line, which replaced it.
Prior to the introduction of the 98 B-Line, most bus routes in Richmond travelled into Downtown Vancouver during rush hours. These routes served all stops along their routes in Richmond, then would operate along Granville Street in Vancouver as express services.
Although the idea of a rapid bus line from Richmond to Vancouver had been discussed for decades, it was first proposed by BC Transit in 1994. In 1995, Vancouver city council approved a southbound high-occupancy vehicle lane for the evening peak hours in the Marpole neighbourhood in preparation for an express bus service. In 1997, the idea of a rapid transit line was re-introduced with the objective of providing the express service at regular fares. A study determined that the best route for the line would be via Granville Street in Vancouver. [4]
The project cost approximately CA$52 million to build; [3] this included the price of new vehicles, the construction of a dedicated bus lane in Richmond, installing new bus shelters, automated on-board announcements and similar technology, transit priority systems for traffic lights and a share of the new Richmond bus depot, as the old Vancouver Oakridge depot could not accommodate the longer 18-metre (60 ft) articulated buses used on the route. [5] The line opened as far as Sea Island on September 4, 2000, [6] later extending from Airport Station into central Richmond in August 2001. [7]
The introduction of the B-Line eliminated most other local bus services that travelled between Richmond and Vancouver, requiring a transfer between buses for most commuters. As a result of the added transfer and quicker travel times of the B-Line that did not materialize, commute times for passengers increased even though a commute time savings of several minutes had been promised. Within a few years, this prompted improved rush hour services on remaining Richmond to Vancouver routes.
The B-line was one of the most used routes in the TransLink system. In early 2001, the Richmond/Airport-Vancouver Rapid Transit Project feasibility study, which examined replacing the 98 B-Line with light rail, held open houses. [8] This proposed line's working name was the "RAV Line" (Richmond–Airport–Vancouver). The estimated cost of $1.72 billion generated much controversy. Richmond city council, which favoured an at-grade line within the city limits for aesthetic reasons, also threatened the project. However, the city backed down because an elevated line was both preferred by the public, and offered faster trip times and lower operating costs. The TransLink board twice rejected the project because board members representing the northeast areas of Greater Vancouver wanted a line built to Coquitlam. The "RAV Line" project was saved after the board agreed to build both lines by 2010. [9] While not part of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the Canada Line, completed in August 2009, replaced the 98 B-Line.
Beginning in February 2008, 98 B-Line route passengers with valid proof of payment were permitted to board using any of the three doors at any stop. To facilitate this, the bus driver controlled the operation of all three doors at each of the stops. Passengers paying cash or validating FareSavers had to board through the front door.
The 98 B-Line was discontinued on September 7, 2009, two and a half weeks after the Canada Line opened. Afterwards, the #10 Hastings/Downtown/Granville bus began running more frequently along Granville street to compensate. [10]
The 98 featured GPS technology, automated stop announcements, specialized bus stop displays that showed the amount of time until the next bus arrives, and special traffic light signals that sustained green lights long enough for buses to pass through.
In Richmond, the 98 B-Line followed a dedicated bus lane separated from mainstream traffic on No. 3 Road, between the Lansdowne and Sea Island Way stops. On February 13, 2006, the 98 B-Line's bus lane in Richmond was closed as utility crews prepared for the construction of the Canada Line along No. 3 Road. Between February 2006 until its discontinuation in September 2009, the 98 B-Line travelled with regular traffic.
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The British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER) was an historic railway which operated in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Originally the parent company for, and later a division of, BC Electric Company, the BCER assumed control of existing streetcar and interurban lines in southwestern British Columbia in 1897, and operated the electric railway systems in the region until the last interurban service was discontinued in 1958. During and after the streetcar era, BC Electric also ran bus and trolleybus systems in Greater Vancouver and bus service in Greater Victoria; these systems subsequently became part of BC Transit, and the routes in Greater Vancouver eventually came under the control of TransLink. Trolley buses still run in the City of Vancouver with one line extending into Burnaby.
The Canada Line is a rapid transit line in Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, that is part of the SkyTrain system. The line is owned by TransLink and InTransitBC and is operated by ProTrans BC. Coloured turquoise on route maps, it operates as an airport rail link between Vancouver, Richmond, and the Vancouver International Airport (YVR). The line comprises 16 stations and 19.2 kilometres (11.9 mi) of track; the main line runs from Vancouver to Richmond while a 4-kilometre (2.5 mi) spur line from Bridgeport station connects to the airport. It opened on August 17, 2009, ahead of the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Waterfront station is a major intermodal public transportation facility and the main transit terminus in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is on West Cordova Street in Downtown Vancouver, between Granville and Seymour Street. The station is also accessible via two other street-level entrances, one on Howe Street to the west for direct access to the Expo Line and another on Granville Street to the south for direct access to the Canada Line.
Burrard is an underground station on the Expo Line of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. The station is located in Downtown Vancouver on Burrard Street, where Melville and Dunsmuir Streets meet, and is the western terminus of the R5 Hastings St that provides service to Simon Fraser University.
Granville is an underground station on the Expo Line of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. The station is located in Downtown Vancouver on the portion of Granville Street that is known as the Granville Mall. The station is accessible from the surface via entrances on Granville Street and Seymour Street, and the Dunsmuir entrance between Granville and Seymour.
The 99 B-Line is an express bus line with bus rapid transit elements in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It travels along Broadway, a major east–west thoroughfare, and connects the University of British Columbia (UBC) to Commercial–Broadway station on the SkyTrain system. It is operated by Coast Mountain Bus Company and funded by TransLink.
Airport station was a TransLink public transit exchange on Sea Island, Richmond, in Metro Vancouver. Most bus operations using the location ceased September 7, 2009, two and a half weeks after the opening of the Canada Line, when the exchange downgraded to a regular bus stop.
Downtown Vancouver is the central business district and the city centre neighbourhood of Vancouver, Canada, on the northwestern shore of the Burrard Peninsula in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. It occupies most of the north shore of the False Creek inlet, which cuts into the Burrard Peninsula creating the Downtown Peninsula, where the West End neighbourhood and Stanley Park are also located.
Transportation in Vancouver, British Columbia, has many of the features of modern cities worldwide. Unlike many large metropolises, Vancouver has no freeways into or through the downtown area. A proposed freeway through the downtown was rejected in the 1960s by a coalition of citizens, community leaders and planners. This event "signalled the emergence of a new concept of the urban landscape" and has been a consistent element of the city's planning ever since.
Richmond–Brighouse is an elevated station on the Canada Line of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. Located in the Brighouse area of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, it is one of the outbound terminus stations of the Canada Line, the other being YVR–Airport. Like YVR–Airport, Richmond–Brighouse only has a single track.
Bridgeport is an elevated station on the Canada Line of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. It is located in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, south of Vancouver. The Canada Line branches outbound at this station, with one branch heading westward to YVR–Airport station at the Vancouver International Airport and the other heading south to Richmond–Brighouse station in the commercial centre of Richmond.
YVR–Airport is an elevated station on the Canada Line of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. The station is located at Vancouver International Airport's main terminal in Richmond, British Columbia, and is one of the outbound termini of the Canada Line, the other being Richmond–Brighouse.
Marine Drive is an elevated station on the Canada Line of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. The station is located at the intersection of Cambie Street and SW Marine Drive in Vancouver, British Columbia.
King Edward is an underground station on the Canada Line of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. The station is located at the intersection of Cambie Street and King Edward Avenue in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and serves the neighbourhoods of Riley Park–Little Mountain and South Cambie. The station is within walking distance of BC Children's Hospital, Nat Bailey Stadium, and Queen Elizabeth Park.
Marpole Loop is a public transit exchange in the Marpole neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The exchange is a part of Metro Vancouver's TransLink transit network. It is the southernmost transit exchange located within the city of Vancouver.
The R4 41st Ave is an express bus route with bus rapid transit elements in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Part of TransLink's RapidBus network, it replaced the 43 Express that travelled along 41st Avenue, a major east–west route that connects the University of British Columbia (UBC) to the SkyTrain system's Oakridge–41st Avenue station on the Canada Line and Joyce–Collingwood station on the Expo Line.
The R5 Hastings St is an express bus service with bus rapid transit elements in Metro Vancouver, Canada. Part of TransLink's RapidBus network, it travels along Hastings Street, a major east–west route, and connects Simon Fraser University to the SkyTrain system's Burrard station on the Expo Line in Downtown Vancouver. It replaced the 95 B-Line route on January 6, 2020.
Brighouse is a neighbourhood that comprises most of the urban core of Richmond in Metro Vancouver. The area includes community facilities, civic offices, Richmond Centre, and the Canada Line Richmond–Brighouse station terminus.
The SkyTrain rapid transit system in Greater Vancouver, Canada, was conceived as a legacy project of Expo 86 and was finished in time to showcase the fair's theme: "Transportation and Communication: World in Motion – World in Touch". Construction was funded by the provincial and federal governments. Vancouver had plans as early as the 1950s to build a monorail system, with modernist architect Wells Coates pencilled in to design it; that project was abandoned. The lack of a rapid transit system was said to be the cause of traffic problems in the 1970s, and the municipal government could not fund the construction of such a system. During the same period, Urban Transportation Development Corporation, then an Ontario crown corporation, was developing a new rapid transit technology known as an "Intermediate Capacity Transit System". In 1980, the need for rapid transit was great, and Ontario needed buyers for its new technology. "Advanced Rapid Transit" was selected to be built in Vancouver to showcase the Ontario project at Expo 86.
The Richmond/Airport-Vancouver Rapid Transit Project is currently assessing whether there is a need to build a rapid transit line that connects Richmond City Centre, the Airport, and downtown Vancouver in the next ten years.