New looping TransLink bus route on Stanley Park Drive could launch in 2027
The study is intended to guide changes and improvements to Stanley Park’s transportation network over the next 20 years or more.
Based on the collection of data and analysis, the Park Board’s extensive study made several key findings.
It found that 80 per cent of Stanley Park’s users with a disability that impacts their mobility visit the park by private vehicle as a group, which demonstrates “a need to provide access, given barriers to using active transportation.”
As well, seniors have a greater reliance on vehicle travel to access Stanley Park as vehicle passengers than the general population, with the study further stating that “this may indicate a greater need to provide seniors with motorized transportation options that do not require them to operate the vehicle.”
When it comes to vehicle traffic volumes in the park, large volumes are typically only recorded during the busy periods on weekends in the summer.
Vancouver Aquarium
There are also distinct patterns of visitation. International tourists tend to frequent attractions in the eastern and northern parts of the park, such as the Vancouver Aquarium and the totem poles at Brockton Point, while local visitors are more likely to spend time in the western and southwestern areas.
More interestingly, the study found distinct spending patterns in Stanley Park tied to visitors’ transportation choices. Those arriving by vehicle with passengers or in larger groups spent the most money of all, a finding that echoes past concerns from restaurants and other park businesses who argued they were hurt by earlier changes to the road network that complicated vehicle access.
The next highest-spending groups are those who walk, cycle, or scooter into Stanley Park, while visitors arriving alone in private vehicles — without any passengers — spend only about half as much as active transportation users.
It was also determined that people who walk to access the park are the most frequent visitors. Public transit users are the least frequent visitors.
Stanley Park’s second TransLink bus route
With this major gap in public transit service in mind, Park Board staff have put preliminary planning for a new Stanley Park Drive public transit bus service as their priority.
Park Board staff are expected to receive approval from Park Board commissioners to spend between $30,000 and $50,000 to perform this necessary planning work in 2026, with the goal of launching the new bus route in 2027.
This is also an initiative that has received TransLink interest.
Early in 2025, TransLink conducted an initial public consultation on the potential for numerous new and improved bus routes across Vancouver, Burnaby, and New Westminster, including a new Stanley Park Drive bus route.
According to the public transit authority, this new Stanley Park bus route would begin at Waterfront Station and travel along a segment of Granville Street to reach West Georgia Street. This new bus route would then run along the entire eight-km-long, counter-clockwise roadway of Stanley Park Drive, serving the park’s major destinations and points of interest.
The existing No. 19 Stanley Park/Metrotown trolley bus route would be retained, which is currently the only bus route that enters the park, with its western endpoint being the bus loop near the Vancouver Aquarium. But the No. 19’s route would see some minor changes to connect with Waterfront Station.
As well, TransLink is also looking to make further improvements to the existing No. 23 Main Street-Science World Station/English Bay to better serve Stanley Park, including extending the western end of the route to reach Second Beach.
Map of the new proposed Stanley Park Drive bus route. (TransLink)
Stanley Park’s bus loop, served by TransLink’s No. 19 Stanley Park/Metrotown trolley bus. (Google Maps)
The cost of implementing TransLink’s new Stanley Park Drive bus service — such as the installation of bus stops — will be determined during the planning process. Park Board staff suggest that a contribution from the municipal government covering at least a portion of these costs may be required. Park Board staff would work with not only TransLink, but also the City of Vancouver’s Engineering Department.
A public transit authority-operated bus route on Stanley Park Drive existed nearly three decades ago. Known as the No. 52, it ended in 1998 shortly after BC Transit’s Metro Vancouver operations transitioned to TransLink.
Shortly after the discontinuation of the No. 52, the Vancouver Park Board launched a new municipally funded free shuttle bus service along Stanley Park Drive. With an annual operating subsidy, the Park Board contracted the Vancouver Trolley Company to run the free summer-long “Round the Park” shuttle using four vintage-style buses, stopping at a dozen attractions.
In 2008, the free shuttle bus carried about 140,000 riders — mostly tourists — and helped cut vehicle traffic in peak season. However, a failed attempt to charge small fares caused ridership to plunge by 60 per cent, and budget pressures led the Park Board to end the service in 2009.
Stanley Park Shuttle Bus operated by the Vancouver Trolley Company. (Lissandra Melo/Shutterstock)
Potential future car-free days as a pilot project, and consideration of multi-level parkades
Other than the launch of a new additional TransLink bus route in the near term, Park Board staff are also looking to conduct more detailed studies and pilot projects on the “viability and cost implications” of car-free options on Stanley Park Drive over the longer term. It is estimated that the cost of planning car-free days and conducting detailed studies is at least $200,000, excluding the actual operating costs of car-free days.
“This stage is essential to understand the cost implications and the impacts (both positive and negative) of a car-free or car-limited environment on key interest holders, parking revenue, business opportunities, operational traffic capacity, accessibility, and public opinion,” reads the report.
In completing the study, Park Board staff performed rounds of public consultation and initially created 63 mobility ideas for Stanley Park before whittling it down to 21 options and then a shortlist of six options.
According to the final report, those six options for modifying Stanley Park Drive entail time-based vehicle access restrictions (estimated cost of $844,000), vehicle time slot booking (also $844,000), the creation of a dedicated bus lane ($6.24 million), the creation of a dedicated permanent bike lane ($10.39 million), a car-free road with a dedicated permanent bike lane and bus lane ($13.41 million), and a car-free road with active transportation and shuttle/bus public transit uses only ($903,000).
A car-free Stanley Park Drive could be supported by new multi-level parkades of up to six storeys on the footprints of the existing Service Yard and Stanley Park Train surface lots. These facilities would maintain accessibility for those who rely on private vehicles, replace parking capacity lost along Stanley Park Drive, preserve significant pay parking revenue supporting park operations and maintenance, and provide a central location near major attractions such as the Vancouver Aquarium, Stanley Park Train, and Malkin Bowl.
Potential concept of car-free days in Stanley Park. (Vancouver Park Board)
Stanley Park Mobility Study Option C: Stanley Park Drive with dedicated bus lanes. (Vancouver Park Board)
Stanley Park Mobility Study Option F: Car-free Stanley Park Drive for bi-directional cycling and one-way bus traffic. (Vancouver Park Board)
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