Getting Around Vancouver

Vancouver just like most metro area has a well structured public transportation. It covered bus, skytrain and water bus. So unlike Singapore which you have to buy separate tickets for MRT and bus, when you're using translink in Vancouver, you could use the same ticket to jump from skytrain to bus.

There are different types of fares available. If you're going to be out whole day travelling from one place to another you should invest on one of the day pass. It costs $9 but it's a better deal because those single tickets could easily add up to more than $9. If you are just going from one place to another use one of those fare saver tickets. The catch with fare saver tickets is you have to buy a booklet of 10. For the one zone tickets the cost is $21 for 10 tickets (compare to $2.5 per ticket if you're paying cash). Or $28.50 for 10 tickets for the two zone tickets (compare to $3.75/ticket cash price).

The first thing you need to figure out is whether you need the one zone or two zone tickets. If you're coming from airport, you'll need two zone ticket to get you downtown. But once you settle downtown and just getting around in the area then you'll just need one zone ticket for the most part. Look at the map below.

For the most part, you could just invest in a booklet of one zone fare saver tickets. You could use the same ticket to travel two zone by adding the difference at the machine just before using it. If you're using the same ticket to travel within one zone just validate it before using it. Once validated, you are given 90 minutes to use the same ticket.

Depends on what you do and where the locations are, you could probably get to a few places with the same ticket. Jumping from station to station on sky train and bus stop to bus stop on buses. Just make sure you get it all done before the expiration time printed on your ticket. If it expired then you need to pull out another ticket from your booklet for your next leg of journey. And so on.