TransLink sets aside 10 buses for free shuttles to vaccination sites

Metro Vancouver’s public transit authority is providing a helping hand for individuals who are having trouble getting to their COVID-19 vaccination sites.

TransLink says it has set aside 10 buses as shuttles that can be deployed with as little as 24 hours’ notice when Vancouver Coastal Health, Fraser Health Authority, or individuals who have clear transportation challenges with getting to their vaccination appointments.

• See also:
  • Over 1,400 laid-off BC tourism and hospitality workers to fill non-clinical roles in vaccination clinics
  • Laid off staff at YVR Airport being recalled to help manage vaccination sites 
  • TransLink testing technology that continually sanitizes air on buses
  • TransLink pilot project finds copper surfaces kill 99.9% of pathogens within one hour

One initiative so far is a shuttle service from Capilano Mall to the ICBC vaccination site for people with mobility issues due to a lack of vehicle parking. This initiative will end today.

Next week, as another initiative, TransLink buses will be used to shuttle about 200 low-income seniors with mobility challenges preventing them from getting to their appointments. The public transit authority notes that many seniors are feeling a sense of anxiety and uneasiness about walking long distances by themselves, given the recent rise in anti-Asian racism over the past year.

As requested by Vancouver Coastal Health, the shuttle buses will move these seniors from designated stops in a neighbourhood to the vaccination site at Vancouver Community College.

Additionally, TransLink is deploying HandyDART to provide door-to-door services for seniors in Burnaby, New West, South Surrey, and Langley next week through a partnership with Fraser Health Authority.

“If you know of a group of individuals who are having trouble accessing their clinics, we want to hear from you. Please contact your local health authority today. We’re here to help Metro Vancouver and we want to help drive the recovery from COVID-19,” said Gigi Chen-Kuo, the Interim CEO of TransLink.

“Were doing this because TransLink is a part of this community, and we want to do our part to help our customers.”

• See also:
  • Over 1,400 laid-off BC tourism and hospitality workers to fill non-clinical roles in vaccination clinics
  • Laid off staff at YVR Airport being recalled to help manage vaccination sites 
  • TransLink testing technology that continually sanitizes air on buses
  • TransLink pilot project finds copper surfaces kill 99.9% of pathogens within one hour