October is fast approaching and we will be returning to on-campus learning soon.

Over the past two years, much has changed, including the opening of our brand-new Vancouver House Campus in the Beach District. The state-of-the-art Vancouver House Campus is ready to welcome students this fall with inviting glass floor-to-ceiling windows, open concept student lounges and beautiful murals from local and Indigenous artists.

Whether your classes are at our West Pender or Vancouver House Campus, you can rest assured that commuting to campus will be the least of your worries thanks to easy and convenient public transit access.

Public Transit in Metro Vancouver

TransLink is Metro Vancouver’s regional transportation authority and offers a variety of public transit methods to help you get to where you need to be. With TransLink, you can take the bus, SkyTrain (train/subway), SeaBus (ferry) or West Coast Express (railway train).

In 2013, TransLink was the first Canadian public transit organization to achieve Platinum level status for sustainability from the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). For this milestone, the APTA reviewed TransLink’s program to improve the management of energy, air pollutants, water, waste and greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2019, TransLink was also honoured with the APTA’s prestigious Outstanding Public Transportation System Award. This award recognized the work that TransLink did to improve customer service, on-time performance and efficiency.

As a student, taking transit is an economical and sustainable form of transportation. If you are transiting to campus and around the city frequently, opting for a monthly pass is a more cost-effective option for you in the long run.

How to Transit to UCW’s West Pender and Vancouver House Campuses

The West Pender Campus is centrally located in downtown Vancouver and is close to popular bus routes, the SeaBus and all three major SkyTrain lines – Canada Line, Millennium Line and Expo Line. The campus is a short walk away from the Waterfront, Granville and Vancouver City Centre SkyTrain stations.

The Vancouver House Campus is in the Beach District in downtown Vancouver and is equally as accessible by transit. The campus is close to two adjacent active travel paths, rapid transit and express bus services – all within a 10-minute walk or less. You can take the Canada Line and get off at Yaletown-Roundhouse Station or alternatively, you can take the Expo Line and get off at Granville Station. From the Granville Station, you can either walk 17 minutes to the campus or take a variety of buses, including 4 (Powell/Downtown/UBC), 7 (Nanaimo/Dunbar), 10 (Granville/Downtown), 14 (Hastings/UBC) or 16 (29th Avenue/Arbutus).

If you want to enjoy the beautiful views that Vancouver has to offer, you can also bike to the Vancouver House Campus along Vancouver’s stunning seawall.

Sustainable Transportation

At UCW, we encourage all our students and staff to minimize their carbon footprint by taking advantage of alternatives to solo driving like walking, taking public transit, carpooling, biking or even running (that could be your form of exercise for the day!)

The move to a more sustainable lifestyle starts with all of us, and walking or taking transit are a great way to start.

To plan your route for commuting to campus, visit translink.ca/schedules-and-maps.

Published on Aug. 20, 2021.