Tour buses

One of the goals of the City is to maintain a balance between the needs of Vancouver residents and the tourism industry. Currently, the City is actively working with the industry to better integrate tour bus travel within the City.

Here are some guidelines for tour bus operators:

Tour bus brochure ( PDF 5.6mb)

Truck route map ( PDF 418kb)

 

Where tour buses can go

Tour buses may use:

• Bus Lanes
• High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lanes
• Truck Routes.

On-street zones to stop and unload or load passengers include:

• loading zones
• commercial loading zones
• passenger zones
• tour bus zones

Tour buses may park:

• In tour bus-parking zones, where the time limit is indicated on the sign
• On commercial streets, subject to posted regulations
• At meters with full payment
• In Stanley Park and Queen Elizabeth Park in accordance with parking regulations

Neighbourhood courtesy: please remember that residents' quality of life is greatly affected by noise and pollution from large vehicles like tour buses.

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Tips

• Stay on truck routes and do not drive on residential streets unless necessary to get to your destination
• Take the most direct route from the truck route to your destination
• Don't circulate through residential streets or lanes at any time
• Don't park in residential neighbourhoods
• Don't leave engines idling for more than 3 minutes
• Don't use engine brakes except in emergencies

Tour buses can be ticketed for:

• Stopping and loading in TransLink bus stops and bus zones
• Loading or parking in taxi, police, or consular zones
• Stopping or loading within 6 meters of marked or unmarked crosswalks, or on streets with rush hour stopping prohibitions
• Idling for more than 3 minutes
• Using engine brakes

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Tour buses on-street parking

Downtown

15 minute tour bus zone

• 600 Beatty - west side, south of Dunsmuir St.
• 900 Canada Pl - north side, east of Burrard St. (Pan Pacific Hotel)
• 500 Columbia St. - west side, south of Pender St. (Chinese Cultural Centre)
• 700 Homer St. - east side, north of Robson St. (Vancouver Public Library)
• 1000 Melville St. - south side, west of Burrard St. (Hyatt Regency Hotel)
• 300 Richards St. - west side, south of Water St.
• 300 Seymour St. - east side, south of Cordova St. (Harbour Centre)

1 hour tour bus zone

• 200 Columbia St. - east side, north of Cordova St

2 hour tour bus zone

• 1600 Alberni St. - north side, west of Cardero St.

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Reserved parking

• 1000 Smithe St.- west of Burrard (Sutton Place Hotel reserves parking space for tour buses at the hotel).
• Wall Centre - underground access from Hornby St., drivers should check with hotel first.
• Chinatown Parkade - 4 to 5 spaces behind the parkade building at Keefer and Columbia.
• Waterfront Lot - east of Seabus Terminal - operated by the Port of Vancouver. Used for staging buses headed to Canada Place Cruise Ship Terminal.

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