We’ve all been there: Rushing to the SeaBus terminal only to arrive just as the doors close and the gangplanks lift.
Going forward, this will be much less of an issue, with TransLink announcing the long-promised but never-funded 10-minute service during rush hours starting in September.
With 20,000 passengers a day and growth coming in at about six per cent per year, it’s not a moment too soon. In 2017, passengers found themselves locked out of a full SeaBus 70 times. In 2018, that grew to 285.
And census data shows we are becoming increasingly dependent on workers from south of the inlet to pour our coffee, staff our offices and swing our hammers. Anyone who’s seen the state of our bridgeheads at rush hour will know it is imperative we bring as many of those workers as possible in via transit.
We are a bit leery, however, that 10-minute service requires putting the 1976 Burrard Beaver into regular service when it is normally required as backup for when one of the two newer models go down. There is no word on when the brand spankin’ new Burrard Chinook will be seaworthy.
And we wish TransLink would find the money needed for better service in the late evenings, especially when there are big events happening downtown and being locked out or late means a 30-minute wait.
The province is now studying whether it would be viable to build some kind of fixed-link rapid transit across Burrard Inlet. We are dazzled by the thought of the trip being made even faster, but for today, SeaBus remains the best harbour cruise $3.45 can buy.
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