Expanded NightBus brings 24-hour Vancouver airport transit after SkyTrain hours | Daily Hive

Vancouver International Airport gains 24-hour public transit coverage as NightBus expansion fills SkyTrain overnight gap

N10 YVR-Downtown/YVR-Brighouse Station NightBus. (transitkidjason/YouTube)

As of today, overnight public transit access to Vancouver International Airport (YVR) has improved significantly.

TransLink has expanded service on the N10 NightBus, with the changes extending the service to cover the overnight gap when the Canada Line is not operating, effectively delivering 24-hour public transit access to the country’s second largest and busiest airport.

Essentially, nearly all trips on the N10 in both directions will now reach the airport terminal, with increased frequencies.

The upgrades to the N10 are part of TransLink’s winter season service changes starting today, with about three dozen bus routes across the region seeing real frequency and capacity improvements, resulting in an overall net gain in service to Metro Vancouver’s bus network.

You might also like:

In a statement, advocacy group Movement: Metro Vancouver Transit Riders called the expansion “a long overdue step” and a “game changer” for many people who work overnight shifts at the airport.

“We will finally have 24-hour service to the airport,” stated the group. “This fills the nighttime period when the Canada Line does not run, and it will make a real difference for airport workers.”

Currently, service on the Canada Line leaves an overnight gap at the airport. The first train departs YVR Airport Station at 5:09 a.m., with the last train leaving just before 1 a.m. at 12:54 a.m. In the opposite direction, the first train from Waterfront Station bound for the airport departs at 4:48 a.m., while the final trip of the night to the airport leaves Waterfront Station at 1:08 a.m.

According to TransLink, the updated N10 schedule will see more overnight bus trips serving YVR across all days of the week. Running between downtown Vancouver and Richmond City Centre, it operates along Granville Street in Vancouver and No. 3 Road in Richmond via the Arthur Laing Bridge. The bus stop for the airport terminal is located in the domestic departures area on the third level.

With the expanded service, this bus route has now been renamed from N10 Brighouse Station/Downtown NightBus to N10 YVR-Downtown/YVR-Brighouse Station NightBus, reflecting its new connectivity to the airport.

From Monday to Friday, all trips will serve YVR except for the 4:57 a.m. departure from Bridgeport Station.

On Saturdays, every N10 trip will travel to the airport, while on Sundays all trips will serve YVR with the exception of the 4:57 a.m. departure from Bridgeport Station.

In addition to the expanded airport service, TransLink says early-morning frequencies on Saturdays toward downtown Vancouver will improve, with buses running every 30 to 32 minutes between 2:20 a.m. and 3:22 a.m., compared with previous gaps of one hour. The final trip toward downtown will now depart at 3:56 a.m., earlier than the former last trip at 5:10 a.m.

Later-night or even 24-hour SkyTrain service is a frequently requested improvement. However, in 2019, TransLink thoroughly examined its feasibility and determined that it was not possible due to high operating costs, technical and design challenges with the system, and the impact on critical routine maintenance performed overnight. Very few subway systems operate 24 hours a day, and those that do were designed with additional track switches and/or parallel tracks to allow maintenance to occur while service continues. At the time, TransLink indicated improving NightBus routes would be a more cost-efficient strategy.

For the first time since the Canada Line opened in 2009, the YVR AddFare — only applied to trips leaving the airport paid by cash or single-trip Compass fares — will see an increase of $1.50 starting on July 1, 2026, rising from $5.00 to $6.50. Then, beginning in 2027, the YVR AddFare rate will go up by two per cent annually.

n10 nightbus vancouver airport yvr route

Route and bus stop locations of the N10 YVR-Downtown/YVR-Brighouse Station NightBus. (TransLink/Google Maps)

Movement asserts that Metro Vancouver’s night bus network still lags behind those in cities like Montreal and Toronto, noting that many neighbourhoods remain without overnight service. They are urging for 24-hour public transit access to areas such as the Newton neighbourhood in Surrey.

Another notable service improvement was made today for the No. 80 River District/Marine Drive bus route running along Marine Drive between the Canada Line’s Marine Drive Station and the high-density River District residential neighbourhood. Previously, this 2023-launched bus route operated only during peak hours, but as of today its service hours have been expanded to run every 30 minutes on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Over the coming years, TransLink could potentially provide River District with five new and improved routes, including the creation of brand new bus routes and route extensions of existing bus routes to directly reach and serve the neighbourhood.

Construction on the 128-acre site first began more than 15 years ago. By 2021, years after the completion of the first residential buildings, about 3,500 residents called River District home. The neighbourhood’s population reached about 5,000 residents in 2025, and it could accommodate 18,000 residents upon full buildout in about two decades.

You might also like: