Free public transit in Metro Vancouver returns on New Year's Eve

SkyTrain Canada Line (Shutterstock)

Free rides on the entire TransLink system across Metro Vancouver will return on New Year’s Eve this Saturday, December 31, 2022.

TransLink is returning its annual tradition of providing passengers with free rides between 5 pm on NYE and 5 am on January 1, 2023. Passengers will not have to tap their Compass Cards or buy their fare at a Compass machine during this period, but anyone who begins their trip before 5 pm must tap out as normal to ensure they are charged the correct fare.

There will also be extra service throughout NYE, with TransLink deploying over 30 additional buses and extra service on select routes.

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SkyTrain will run on a Saturday schedule with the last trains running one hour later than regularly scheduled. The last Expo Line trains are 2:16 am from Waterfront Station to King George Station, 2:11 am from Waterfront Station to Lougheed Town Centre Station, and 1:40 am from Waterfront Station to Production Way-University Station, while the last Canada Line trains are 2:05 am from Waterfront Station to YVR Airport Station and 2:15 am from Waterfront Station to Richmond-Brighouse Station.

SeaBus will have extended service on its Saturday schedule as well, with frequencies of every 15 minutes until 1:22 am and every 30 minutes until the last sailing from Waterfront Station at 2:22 am.

Once again, there will be smaller crowds in and around downtown Vancouver this NYE due to the cancellation of Concord’s New Year’s Eve fireworks due to the pandemic’s economic impacts.

“Earlier this month, a very difficult decision was made to postpone the inaugural event on December 31, 2022, due to escalating costs in logistics, and challenges with securing the necessary critical labour in completing the required site-wide security and crowd control measures across East False Creek,” reads a media statement from event organizers.

Organizers say they will transfer their event plans to next year, December 31, 2023, for an even “bigger and better” return.

“Over the past year, the volunteer-driven Society expended countless hours and worked with a proven team of global contractors to bring back the first full-scale New Year’s Eve fireworks celebration at the event’s new location of East False Creek (between Cambie Bridge and Science World), complete with activations, experiences, and pyro special effects that have never been seen before in Vancouver,” continues the statement.

“This new, truly world-class event concept would have made all Vancouverites proud, and rekindled a sense of civic pride, hope, and betterment during the most auspicious night of the year.”

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