TransLink's new very frequent, non-stop express bus connects SkyTrain to FIFA World Cup Fan Festival Vancouver
Each year during the PNE Fair, TransLink operates a special shuttle bus service connecting SkyTrain stations with the fairgrounds at Hastings Park.
For the annual fair, the shuttle bus route runs along Renfrew Street between the Expo Line’s 29th Avenue Station and the Pacific Coliseum entrance to Hastings Park, with stops at the Millennium Line’s Renfrew Station and all local bus stops along the corridor. The service typically operates every 15 minutes on fair days.
However, to meet the transportation demands of the free FIFA World Cup Fan Festival at the PNE fairgrounds, TransLink has gone far beyond simply replicating its traditional fairgrounds shuttle bus service, introducing a significantly enhanced operation for FIFA World Cup fans travelling from across Metro Vancouver. The fan festival has a capacity for 25,000 attendees per day.
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The public transit authority has launched a temporary new bus route — the No. 11 FIFA Fan Festival Express — which follows the same Renfrew Street corridor between 29th Avenue Station and the Pacific Coliseum entrance. Unlike the fair shuttle, this FIFA Fan Fest service functions as a true express bus route, making just a single intermediate stop at Renfrew Station. No other local bus stops are served along the approximately six-km-long route.
The service is operated using high-capacity, 60-ft-long, three-door articulated buses.
End-to-end travel time on the No. 11 is approximately 15 minutes. Buses operate every five minutes, beginning two hours before the fan festival gates open each day and continuing until two hours after closing. The route is only in service on the 28 days when the FIFA Fan Festival is operating over the 39-day tournament period.
TransLink’s No. 11 FIFA Fan Festival Express bus at SkyTrain’s Renfrew Station. (Kenneth Chan)
FIFA World Cup volunteers; SkyTrain’s Renfrew Station with FIFA World Cup and FIFA Fan Festival branding. (Kenneth Chan)
SkyTrain’s Renfrew Station with FIFA World Cup and FIFA Fan Festival branding. (Kenneth Chan)
Route and stop map of TransLink’s No. 11 FIFA Fan Festival Express bus route. (Kenneth Chan)
Very extensive FIFA World Cup-branded wayfinding and instructional signage has been installed at 29th Avenue Station, Renfrew Station, and along the Renfrew Street side of Hastings Park to help passengers navigate the route and the broader transit network.
FIFA World Cup volunteers, along with Transit Security personnel and Transit Police officers, have also been deployed at all three bus stop locations to assist passengers and support public safety.
SkyTrain’s 29th Avenue Station with FIFA World Cup and FIFA Fan Festival branding. (Kenneth Chan)
SkyTrain’s 29th Avenue Station with FIFA World Cup directional signage. (Kenneth Chan)
SkyTrain’s 29th Avenue Station with FIFA World Cup directional signage. (Kenneth Chan)
Bus stop at SkyTrain’s Renfrew Station for the No. 11 FIFA Fan Festival Express bus route. (Kenneth Chan)
SkyTrain’s 29th Avenue Station with FIFA World Cup and FIFA Fan Festival branding. (Kenny Ho)
The No. 11 is part of TransLink’s overall FIFA World Cup transportation plan of providing enhanced bus, SkyTrain, SeaBus, and West Coast Express services, carrying a cost of nearly $21 million funded by the City of Vancouver.
In total, the FIFA Fan Festival is open for 28 select days during the entire 39-day tournament period. The fan festival’s operating days and opening and closing times are as follows:
- Thursday, June 11: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (opening match in the host country of Mexico)
- Friday, June 12: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (opening matches in the host countries of Canada and the United States)
- Saturday, June 13: 11:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. (Vancouver group stage match: Australia vs. Turkey)
- Sunday, June 14: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Wednesday, June 17: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Thursday, June 18: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Vancouver group stage match: Canada vs. Qatar)
- Friday, June 19: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Saturday, June 20: 11:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
- Sunday, June 21: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Vancouver group stage match: New Zealand vs. Egypt)
- Wednesday, June 24: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Vancouver group stage match: Switzerland vs. Canada)
- Thursday, June 25: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
- Friday, June 26: 12 p.m. to midnight (Vancouver group stage match: New Zealand vs. Belgium)
- Saturday, June 27: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
- Sunday, June 28: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Thursday, July 2: 12 p.m. to midnight (Vancouver knockout match: round of 32)
- Friday, July 3: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
- Saturday, July 4: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (round-of-16)
- Sunday, July 5: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. (round-of-16)
- Tuesday, July 7: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. (Vancouver knockout match: round of 16)
- Thursday, July 9: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (quarter-finals)
- Friday, July 10: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (quarter-finals)
- Saturday, July 11: 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. (quarter-finals)
- Sunday, July 12: 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
- Tuesday, July 14: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (semi-finals)
- Wednesday, July 15: 10 p.m. to 6 p.m. (semi-finals)
- Friday, July 17: 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
- Saturday, July 18: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. (bronze final)
- Sunday, July 19: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. (championship final)
Here is also a visual calendar view of the festival’s opening dates and times:
June 2026 schedule for Vancouver FIFA World Cup Fan Festival at the PNE in Hastings Park. (City of Vancouver)
July 2026 schedule for Vancouver FIFA World Cup Fan Festival at the PNE in Hastings Park. (City of Vancouver)
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