British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, publicly owned Canadian company. BC Ferries provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry services for coastal and island communities in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Set up in 1960 to provide a similar service to that provided by the Black Ball Line and the Canadian Pacific Railway, which were affected by job action at the time, BC Ferries has become the largest passenger ferry line in North America, operating a fleet of 36 vessels with a total passenger and crew capacity of over 27,000, serving 47 locations on the B.C. coast.
Granville Island is a peninsula and shopping district in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is located across False Creek from Downtown Vancouver under the south end of the Granville Street Bridge. The peninsula was once an industrial manufacturing area, but today it is a hotspot for Vancouver tourism and entertainment. Some Vancouver based tour companies, such as Discover Vancouver Tours and Vancity Tours, offer stops at Granville Island. The area was named after Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville.
A water taxi or a water bus is a watercraft used to provide public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or on demand to many locations, operating in a similar manner to a taxi. A boat service shuttling between two points would normally be described as a ferry rather than a water bus or taxi.
False Creek is a short narrow inlet in the heart of Vancouver, separating the Downtown and West End neighbourhoods from the rest of the city. It is one of the four main bodies of water bordering Vancouver, along with English Bay, Burrard Inlet and the Fraser River. Granville Island is located within the inlet.
S-class ferries are roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ferries operated by BC Ferries in British Columbia, Canada. They are the largest ferries in the BC Ferries fleet. The class comprises two ships, Spirit of British Columbia and Spirit of Vancouver Island, which were completed in 1993 and 1994 respectively. They serve the ferry route between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay. In 2017, the class underwent conversion to a dual-fuel propulsion system that would allow them to use either marine diesel fuel or liquefied natural gas.
Yaletown is an area of Downtown Vancouver approximately bordered by False Creek and by Robson and Homer Streets. Formerly a heavy industrial area dominated by warehouses and rail yards, since Expo 86 it has been transformed into one of the most densely populated neighbourhoods in the city.
The K-class ferries are a group of similarly designed ferries operated by both BC Ferries and TransLink in British Columbia, Canada.
The 98 B-Line was a bus rapid transit line in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 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. It was discontinued on September 7, 2009, two and a half weeks after the opening of the Canada Line, which replaced it.
Downtown Vancouver is the main central business district and the city center neighbourhood of Metro Vancouver, located on the northwestern shore of the Burrard Peninsula in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. The Downtown occupies most of the north shore of the False Creek inlet, which incises into the Burrard Peninsula creating the namesaked 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.
Olympic Village 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 West 2nd Avenue, adjacent to the Cambie Street Bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Allied Shipbuilders Ltd is a privately held shipbuilding and ship repairing company established in Canada in 1948.
Spirit of Vancouver Island is an S-class ferry, part of the BC Ferries fleet. Along with MV Spirit of British Columbia, it is the largest in the BC Ferries fleet. The ship was completed in 1994 and serves the Swartz Bay – Tsawwassen route. In 2018, Spirit of Vancouver Island began a mid-life refit in Poland, where it was converted to a dual-fuel system to allow liquefied natural gas propulsion. The vessel returned to service in 2019.
MV Spirit of British Columbia is an S-class ferry, part of the BC Ferries fleet active along the British Columbia coast. It and Spirit of Vancouver Island represent the two largest ships in the fleet. The ship was completed in 1993 and serves the Tsawwassen–Swartz Bay route. In 2018, it underwent a mid-life refit that included conversion to a dual-fuel system that allows it to use either marine diesel oil or liquefied natural gas.
The Aquabus, also known as, Aquabus Ferries Ltd., is a privately owned and operated ferry service that provides commuter and sightseeing services to locations all along False Creek of central Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Aquabus started service in 1986.
M/V Queen of the Islands was a RORO ferry operated by BC Ferries between 1963 and 1991. Although the passenger areas provided for an enjoyable travel experience for the general public, she was much maligned by the crews that worked on her, and the Queen of the Islands quickly garnered a reputation as being one of the most unloved ships ever to have operated with BC Ferries.
Granville Island Water Taxi Services was a privately owned and operated water taxi service in the Lower Mainland, British Columbia, Canada, which was replaced by English Bay Launch in the Fall of 2009. It was one of three water taxi services connecting Bowen Island to Vancouver with regularly scheduled service. It also offered on demand charter services around the greater Vancouver area.
English Bay Launch is a privately owned and operated water taxi service in the Lower Mainland, British Columbia, Canada, which replaced Granville Island Water Taxi Services in the Fall of 2009. It is one of three water taxi services connecting Bowen Island to Vancouver with regularly scheduled service. It also offers on demand charter services around the greater Vancouver area. It operates an enclosed 27-foot Eagle Craft vessel named The Eagle 14. Passengers are allowed to bring bicycles on board.
N-class ferries are a class of RORO ferries, of which two remaining examples are owned by BC Ferries. These ferries have the distinction of being the smallest vessels owned by BC Ferries.
