How often are buses and trains cleaned in Vancouver?

Summer in Vancouver has brought sunshine, lively events, and fireworks to our lovely city. However, the warm weather also brought a sweaty stench to our crowded buses and SkyTrains.

Public transit in Vancouver turns into a sauna with the mass of bodies boarding the vehicles, and you can feel pretty gross once you finally arrive at your stop. That got us wondering: how often are buses and trains cleaned in Vancouver?

TransLink shared some updated information with Daily Hive Urbanized about cleaning schedules for its trains and buses.

According to a TransLink representative, Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) maintenance crews clean each of its buses daily. This cleaning schedule includes “sweeping, dusting, mopping, and sanitizing touch points, windows, seating areas, stanchions, and straps.”

If you’re worried that this daily cleaning may be just a surface-level cleanse, there’s good news: TransLink also deep cleans each of its buses bimonthly.

“Additionally, buses are deep-cleaned approximately every two months; this involves a four to five-hour (depending on the size of the bus) deep cleaning of every bus interior surface,” TransLink said.

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As for SkyTrains, TransLink explained that car interiors are cleaned every night at the end of service.

“Deeper cleaning is done at the maintenance facilities every few days; detailing and floor waxing happens twice per year,” added TransLink.

SeaBus vessels are cleaned daily, and interior carpets receive cleaning once a month.

Fall changes to some TransLink operations

There are also some upcoming changes coming to TransLink buses this fall.

TransLink is set to increase bus service across the region starting on Monday, Sept. 1, including routes serving schools and job sites. Seasonal changes will also be made to shift resources away from busy summertime destinations.

“This fall, we’re adding more service on 53 bus routes, making it easier to get to school, work, and everywhere in between,” said Kevin Quinn, CEO of TransLink, in a previous release.

“That means more buses, more room, and easier connections throughout Metro Vancouver.”

Translink highlighted a number of key changes for the fall, including:

• Increased service on the five most overcrowded bus routes
  • 321, 335, 345, 393, and 503
• Boost in service on the 13 highest ridership routes
  • 5/6, 9, 16, 19, 20, 49, 99, 100, 130, 321, 335, R1, and R4
• Adding midday service on Route 388 in Surrey on weekdays

Service boosts will also be targeted for 25 routes serving several post-secondary institutions, including:

• UBC
• Langara
• Douglas College
• BCIT
• SFU Burnaby
• SFU Surrey
• Capilano University

TransLink is also promising better access to industrial job sites such as Annacis Island, Rosemary Heights Business Park, Mary Hill Business Park, and the Port Kells Industrial Area.

This summer, the new Mark V SkyTrains also entered service around Metro Vancouver.

With files from Daniel Chai and Beth Rochester

This article was first published in September 2024 and has since been updated