13 -- Bridgeport Station, boarding the Canada Line into Vancouver

**The videos in this series are numbered, starting with “01” departing from downtown Victoria. If you are leaving from Vancouver, it may be helpful to start at the bottom of the list, to see what the SkyTrain, Bridgeport Station, the #620 bus, and the Tsawwassen ferry terminal look like.** The #620 from the Tsawwassen ferry terminal arrives on the ground floor of Bridgeport Station. When I saw the nice new map by the entrance, I just couldn't stop myself -- being a geographer, I had to show where we are and where we're going. Now we're going to enter the station itself, go upstairs, and take the SkyTrain. You'll see me tapping my blue Compass card on the sensor as I'm going in -- I've got it in an armband holder to save time and make it harder to lose. There are ticket machines in the station lobby. The SkyTrain runs pretty regularly, so I didn't have to wait long. The main thing to remember if you get turned around and aren't sure of the direction -- if you're heading into Vancouver, look for the trains going to Waterfront Station. (my standard spiel for these videos) Several people have asked me if it’s possible to travel between Vancouver and Victoria using public transit. Short answer: Yes! (Longer answer: make sure to leave enough time. The ferry ride itself takes about an hour and a half, but the boats don’t depart every hour during the day and night. Island people know not to plan on any morning meetings in Vancouver, or flights departing YVR, unless they have arranged to stay there overnight.) How much will it cost? Probably around 30-something dollars (at least one bus on the Victoria side, walk-on ticket for the ferry, bus and maybe the SkyTrain on the Vancouver side). I have been doing this trip since the early 1990s, and it’s a LOT easier now (especially after the construction of the Canada Line). The main thing to remember is that you have to get to and from the ferry terminals – both of them are not located in the downtown area, but some distance from their cities. The timing of the ferry departures/arrivals will be a major factor in your trip, so check the BC Ferries schedules for more info on which “sailing” to aim for. Ideally you won’t end up stranded on the wrong side of the water when the ferries shut down for the night! These articles are for the 2019-2020 period. I shot the videos in late June 2021 when I went to BC Children’s Hospital to participate in a covid vaccine mix-and-match study. Beyond 2021, you may need to google for updates. https://buzzer.translink.ca/2020/07/t... https://www.timescolonist.com/opinion... Check the TransLink, BC Transit, and BC Ferries pages for changes to fares. (If you live in Vancouver or go there often, you may find it convenient to purchase a reloadable Compass card.) https://www.translink.ca/transit-fare... https://www.compasscard.ca https://www.bcferries.com/routes-fare... https://www.bctransit.com/victoria/fares