Transportation

Vancouver has a reliable public transit system called TransLink, and as a student, your student fees cover what's called a U-Pass. The U-Pass provides unlimited bus, Seabus, Skytrain, and Canada Line services within Metro Vancouver. The U-Pass is covered in a bit more detail below.

A great way to plan a trip using public transportation in Vancouver is to use the Trip Planner on the Translink website.

The best way to get to UBC's main campus in Point Grey is by bus. The Point Grey campus cannot yet be directly reached by Seabus or SkyTrain. Express buses to the Point Grey campus run on a couple of main corridors, in particular: 4th Avenue, West Broadway, 16th Avenue, and South West Marine Drive. Please take a look at the Translink Transit Systems Maps to orient yourself with the bus routes, geographical features and popular landmarks in relation to the UBC Point Grey campus and other campus sites like UBC Robson Square or any of the hospital-affiliated sites in the city. 

There are different types of bus services including regular and express buses within the Translink network. Public transit buses cover a great deal of Vancouver and offer regular service within the city. UBC is a 20-minute bus ride from downtown Vancouver.  Depending on the bus route, there are regular buses (buses that make many stops along its route to accommodate as many rider destinations as possible) express buses (which stop less frequently along the route and can help you to cover longer distances quickly) and RapidBus service (a few routes that offer fewer stops and up to 20% faster services than regular buses).

The SkyTrain connects the outer cities of Greater Vancouver, including Richmond, Surrey, New Westminster, and Burnaby, with downtown Vancouver. For a map and information about services, please see the TransLink website.

SeaBus is a passenger ferry that connects downtown Vancouver (Waterfront terminal) with the North Shore (Lonsdale Quay). There are good bus connections in both locations. For more information about the SeaBus service see the TransLink website.

You must pay a fare to ride public transit in Vancouver, whether you have a monthly pass like your student U-Pass, or not. Purchasing a single ticket for your zone covers buses, SkyTrain and the SeaBus for 90 minutes, including transfers between buses, SkyTrain and SeaBus. If you don’t have a U-Pass, you can purchase single tickets on the bus with exact change (no notes or dollar bills are accepted and no change is given) or use a stored-value Compass Card. Day passes are also available, for example if you have family visiting.  For information about zones and ticket fares visit the TransLink website.

All UBC students are automatically enrolled in the U-Pass program. It is included in your student fees and at a substantial discount compared to regular passes. The U-Pass is valid on buses, Skytrains and the Seabus. New students must first purchase an adult-class Compass Card (think “bus pass card”) for $6, then link it to the U-Pass via your CWL. Once linked, the U-Pass can and must be loaded monthly, as long as you remain eligible. You must also carry your UBCcard (student ID) when using your U-Pass to avoid possible penalties.

Students who live outside the boundaries of Metro Vancouver can apply of an exemption to the U-Pass program. For more information visit the UPass website.