How often are buses and trains cleaned in Vancouver?

The first completed new generation five-car Mark V train for SkyTrain. (TransLink)

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.

The 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?

In an email to Daily Hive, TransLink shared that Coast Mountain Bus Company maintenance crews clean each of its buses daily. The daily 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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In addition to the strict cleaning schedules followed by the maintenance crews, TransLink is constantly trying to improve the commuter experience.

Most recently, TransLink operators have released new PSAs on SkyTrains to encourage polite transit etiquette. One such PSA urges commuters to take off their backpacks, especially during peak travel hours.

In an earlier conversation with Daily Hive, TransLink shared that it launched a new etiquette campaign to improve people’s journeys on its transport system.

“This September, TransLink launched our newest etiquette campaign to spread awareness on our system. This year, we are focusing on educating customers about priority seating etiquette and reminding customers with backpacks to remove them while in vehicles. Customers can expect to hear the PSA on the system; there will also be posters and signage on the system, as well as posts on our social channels.”