Transportation in Vancouver

Vancouver's transport backbone is the SkyTrain: three fully-automated lines (Expo, Millennium, Canada) that thread through downtown, the suburbs, and the airport. A Compass Card from any station vending machine is your first purchase, tap in/out on trains, buses, and SeaBus ferries and you'll pay a fraction of what taxis cost. Buses fill the gaps, the electric trolley routes that climb the West End hills; TransLink's Trip Planner app or Google Maps will keep you off the slower tourist loops. From YVR, the Canada Line is the only rail link, clean, fast, and cheap compared with curb-side cabs. Buy a Compass Card at the airport station, ride 25 minutes to Waterfront, and you're downtown. Skip the private shuttles that circle hotels; they're slower and often costlier than the train plus a short walk or bus transfer.