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.
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):
195 bus routes in total
Regular transit service
Express Coach Service to suburban municipalities
Trolley Bus Service - 13 routes primarily in the City of Vancouver
NightBus - special routes after midnight, 8 routes with plans for expansion
B-Line express buses (3 routes - see below)
Community shuttles - routes operating minibuses that connect to the larger ones
SeaBus - passenger ferry across the Burrard Inlet
The regional transit network including bus routes, service levels and fares are set by TransLink.
Basically the honour system, a Fare Paid Zone is a clearly marked territory on which passengers must have valid proof of payment and present it for inspection upon request of a Transit Security Officer. 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 a "Fare Paid Zone", along with 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 Police and Transit Security Department. Officers may board a bus at any time and conduct a fare inspection. Those who fail to pay the fare and retain proof of payment could be removed from the bus and/or fined $173.
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 Metro Vancouver.)
The following fleet are/were owned by TransLink and operated and maintained by CMBC.
The following fleet are/were owned by TransLink and operated and maintained by CMBC.
Notes:
All vehicles are wheelchair-accessible.
All CMBC diesel vehicles are currently running on bio-diesel.
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.
B - Burnaby
H - Hamilton (since 2016)
N - North Vancouver (until 2016)
P - Port Coquitlam
R - Richmond
S - Surrey/Community Shuttle
T - Special training vehicle
V - Vancouver (formerly Oakridge)
The first/prototype 40 ft New Flyer/Vossloh Kiepe low-floor trolley bus arrived at the Oakridge Transit Centre on July 2, 2005. 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.
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.
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. However, in September 2016, the shuttle operations were shifted to the new Hamilton Transit Centre. The property has been sold to an Asian developer. Only retired buses sit in the transit centre.
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, built in 1986, is split into two facilities separated by Kitchener Street and is home to the 99 B-Line rapid transit route. Serving parts of Burnaby and New Westminster, as well 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. Beginning in September 2016, North Shore transit routes operate out of this transit centre.
North Vancouver Transit Centre - This depot was built in 1946, and was the base for most North Shore services not operated by West Vancouver Municipal Transit. It is now closed, and all North Vancouver routes now operate from Burnaby Transit Centre.
North Vancouver Seabus Centre
Port Coquitlam Transit Centre - Opened in 1978, it was the first garage to support Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles. 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. Opened in 2000.
Hamilton Transit Centre - This facility opened in Fall 2016, and took over operations of various Richmond, Burnaby and New Westminster routes. It is based for most services terminating at 22nd Street Station
Surrey Transit Centre - Base for all Surrey, Langley, North Delta and some White Rock and Ladner services. Opened in 1976.
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.
CMBC's 4300+ employees are spread across Metro Vancouver.
The 3700 bus operators, represented by Unifor Local 111, and the 1100 maintenance employees, represented by Unifor Local 2200, work out of the six regional depots.
The SeaBus staff of 80, including marine attendants, deck officers, engineers, coordinators (also represented by Unifor 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 New Westminster 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.
Coast Mountain Bus Company operates the Transit Security Department for Translink. Transit Security officers are mobile, ride buses and trains, inspect fares, issue fines and patrol TransLink Properties (Bus Loops, SkyTrain Stations, SeaBus, etc) and are authorized to arrest persons who commit criminal offences on or in relation to any Translink Properties per the Criminal Code. Transit security are also authorized to enforce Transit Conduct and Safety Regulations, as well as the Transit Tariff Bylaw.
B-Line is a system of express bus routes with bus rapid transit elements using mostly 60-foot (18 m) low-floor articulated buses. There may also be all-door boarding.
Three routes currently are in operation:
95 B-Line — Burrard Station- SFU Exchange, via Kootenay Loop.
96 B-Line — Newton Exchange - Guildford Exchange, via King George Station and Surrey Central Station.
99 B-Line — UBC Loop - Commercial–Broadway Station, via Broadway–City Hall Station. (Previously UBC Loop - Lougheed Mall)
Four additional routes are scheduled to open early in 2017,.
91 B-Line — 41st Avenue between UBC and Joyce–Collingwood Station. It will replace the 43 Express.
North Shore B-Line — Marine Drive between Dundarave and Phibbs Exchange.
Fraser Highway B-Line — Fraser Highway between Surrey Central Station and Langley.
Lougheed Highway B-Line — Lougheed Highway between Coquitlam Central Station and Maple Ridge. It will complement the existing 701 route servicing local stops.
Two lines have been terminated. The 98 B-Line was replaced with the Canada Line, and the 97 B-Line was replaced by the Millennium Line Evergreen Extension:
98 B-Line — Burrard Station - Richmond Centre
97 B-Line — Coquitlam Central Station - Lougheed Town Centre Station.
