Coast Mountain Bus Company

Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) is the contract operator for bus transit services in Metro Vancouver and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority known locally as TransLink, the entity responsible for transit. The buses form part of the integrated transit network of the lower mainland.

Services

The Coast Mountain Bus Company operates the buses throughout Greater Vancouver (except West Vancouver which operates its own Blue Bus system and three contract operators that provide Community Shuttle as well as HandyDART services):

• 191 bus routes in total
  • Regular transit service
  • Express Coach Service to suburban municipalities
  • Trolley Bus Service - 12 routes primarily in the City of Vancouver
  • NightBus - special routes after midnight, 12 routes with plans for expansion
  • B-Line express buses (2 routes - see below)
  • Community shuttles - routes operating minibuses
• SeaBus - passenger ferry across the Burrard Inlet

The regional transit network including bus routes, service levels and fares are set by TransLink.

Fare Paid Zones

Basically the honour system, a Fare Paid Zone is a clearly marked territory on which passengers must have valid proof of payment. This was only in effect in SkyTrain stations and vehicles until June 25, 2007, when the law was changed. Now, all buses, including West Vancouver buses, will be designated "Fare Paid Zones", as well as the SkyTrain. The reason for implementing the "Fare Paid Zone" was to remove responsibility from the bus driver for fare enforcement, as too many bus drivers were being assaulted in disputes over fare payment. Fare Enforcement on all buses are now the responsibility of the Transit Security Department. Those who fail to pay the fare and retain proof of payment could be removed from the bus and/or fined $173.

History

CMBC was created on April 1, 1999. Bus service in Greater Vancouver was formerly provided by BC Transit. (BC Transit now refers only to the provincial government corporation that operates transit outside of the Metro Vancouver.)

Current Fleet Roster

The following fleet are owned by TransLink and operated and maintained by CMBC.

Heavy Duty Buses

Community Shuttle

SeaBus

Notes:

• All vehicles are wheelchair-accessible.
• All CMBC diesel vehicles are currently running on bio-diesel.

Prefixes

Letter prefixes are prepended to the bus numbers on all conventional Coast Mountain buses, except trolleys. Generally, the prefixes are used to identify which garage the bus is operating from.

• V - Vancouver
• B - Burnaby
• P - Port Coquitlam
• R - Richmond
• S - Surrey
• N - North Vancouver
• T - Special training vehicle

Additional fleet notes

The first/prototype 40ft New Flyer/Vossloh Kiepe low-floor trolley bus arrived at the Oakridge Transit Centre on July 2, 2005.^[3] The 187 additional vehicles of that type arrived in 2006–2007, and all had entered service by the end of 2007. The first 60-foot (18 m) articulated trolley coach (#2501) arrived at the Oakridge Transit Centre in January 2007. The others started arriving in January 2008, and all 74 had entered service by the end of 2009.^[4]

It was announced that the original bike racks on the 2006 New Flyer buses can only be used in daylight, as they block the headlights at night. Many of them have now been replaced with a modified "V2W" rack.

Prefixes

Letter prefixes are prepended to the bus numbers on all conventional Coast Mountain buses, except trolleys. Generally, the prefixes are used to identify which garage the bus is operating from.

• V - Vancouver
• B - Burnaby
• P - Port Coquitlam
• R - Richmond
• S - Surrey
• N - North Vancouver
• T - Special training vehicle

Facilities

• Oakridge Transit Centre - In operation since 1948, Oakridge was to be decommissioned and likely sold for re-development beginning in 2007. However with the arrival of several New Flyer and Novabus orders since 2006 it remained an active support facility conducting retrofitting on these vehicles in preparation for revenue service. Additionally, the Oakridge yard was home to many retired coaches, including E901/902 trolleys, New Flyer D40s, and other vehicles. In Spring of 2008, as part of a re-organization and expansion at Burnaby Transit Centre, Oakridge took over many of the tasks formerly located at the other facility. The Community Shuttle Service was one of the groups moved making Oakridge an active transit centre once again.

• Vancouver Transit Centre - New garage for Vancouver bus operations, open effective September 2, 2006. This garage serves the trolley routes, as well as most of Vancouver's buses.

• Burnaby Transit Centre - This depot is split into two facilities separated by Kitchener Street and is home to the 99 B-Line rapid transit route. Serving Burnaby and New Westminster, as well as parts of the North Shore and east Vancouver, Burnaby Transit Centre is also home to many support services such as Environmental Services, Trolley Overhead, Facilities Maintenance, Fire Prevention, and Non-Revenue Vehicle Maintenance.

• North Vancouver Transit Centre - Base for most North Shore services not operated by West Vancouver Municipal Transit.

• North Vancouver Seabus Centre

• Port Coquitlam Transit Centre - Base for the 97 B-Line and serves the Tri-Cities, New Westminster, Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows areas.

• Richmond Transit Centre - Base for the suburban routes served by Orion V highway coaches and local routes in Richmond and South Delta, and the ex-98 B-Line vehicles.

• Surrey Transit Centre - Base for all Surrey, Langley, North Delta and some White Rock and Ladner services.

• Fleet Overhaul (located at Burnaby Transit Centre) is where the majority of body repair and repainting is carried out as well as engine and component overhaul, while minor repair is most likely carried out at the bus's home garage. Fleet Overhaul is in the process of having a new facility built within the Maple Ridge area.

Employees

CMBC's 4300+ employees are spread across Metro Vancouver.

• The 2800 bus operators, represented by CAW Local 111, and the 650 maintenance employees, represented by CAW Local 2200, work out of the six regional depots.
• The SeaBus staff of 80, including marine attendants, deck officers, engineers, coordinators (also represented by CAW Local 2200), and office staff work from their North Vancouver location.
• The 600 staff involved in scheduling, training, operational planning, and administrative services are spread throughout the system, as well as at CMBC’s head office in Surrey are represented by the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union, Local 378.
• In October 2008, CMBC was named one of BC's Top Employers by Mediacorp Canada Inc., which was announced by The Vancouver Sun, The Province and the Victoria Times-Colonist.^[5]
• Coast Mountain Bus Company operates the Transit Security Department for Translink. Transit Security Officers are mobile, ride buses and trains, inspect fares and patrol TransLink Properties (Bus Loops, SkyTrain Stations, SeaBus Terminals, etc...). Transit Security Officers are authorized to arrest persons who commit criminal offences on or in relation to any Translink Properties per the Criminal Code of Canada. Transit Security Officers are also authorized to enforce Transit Conduct and Safety Regulations, pursuant to the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Act, as well as the Transit Tariff.

B-Line services

B-Line is a Bus Rapid Transit system using 60-foot (18 m) low-floor articulated buses.

Routes

Two routes currently are in operation:

• 97 B-Line — Coquitlam Centre/Coquitlam Central Station - Lougheed Town Centre Station
• 99 B-Line — University of British Columbia (UBC) - Commercial–Broadway Station

Three routes are in planning:

• 91 B-Line — 41st Avenue between UBC and Joyce–Collingwood Station. It will replace the 43 Express. Service is scheduled to begin in 2011.
• 95 B-Line — Hastings Street between Burrard Station and Simon Fraser University. It will replace the 135 Express. Service is scheduled to begin in 2011.
• 399 B-Line — King George Boulevard. Development of this line has been postponed.

One line was terminated in 2009:

• 98 B-Line — Burrard Station - Richmond Centre: Service terminated in September 2009, replaced with the Canada Line

98 B-Line

The 98 B-Line was an experiment in bus rapid transit, or BRT. It was the first bus line in Vancouver to be equipped with GPS receivers, automated stop announcements, and traffic light "sustainers", which hold the stale green light long enough for the bus to pass through the intersection. These technologies were installed by Siemens Inc. and Novax Inc. instead of the conventional two-way Motorola radio system used by most other coaches in the system. Siemens also installed a special computer into these buses for both announcements, radio functions, and schedule information. These computers are for transit personnel only.

When the Canada Line was being constructed through the 98 B-Line route in both Vancouver and Richmond, many of the features of the BRT technology were not being fully used. Examples include bus stops with no digital "next bus" information, or inactive stop announcements on coaches. The system was not repaired and the 98 B-Line has discontinued service on September 7, 2009 two and a half weeks after the opening of the Canada Line.

Gallery of fleet examples

References

External links

• Coast Mountain Bus Company
• CAW Local 111
• TransLink / Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority
• CAW Local 2200
• COPE 378