City of Vancouver Implements Canada Place Way Tour Bus Zone Loading Zone Fees for Summer

On May 14th the City of Vancouver Council approved the Administrative Report for the implementation of fees for the Canada Place way tour bus zone.

The collection of the fees and the enforcement will go into effect on June 1st 2019.  The tour bus zone permit fee will be implemented for tour buses to use the tour bus zone on Canada Place between May 1st and October 15th.  

Background:

Canada Place way is a hub for buses that service the tourism industry and is one of the busiest tourist destinations in Vancouver. In 2018, improvements to the midblock crosswalk on Canada Place were implemented and a Vancouver Police Department (VPD) officer was stationed in the area during peak times to better regulate the area. These new measures proved successful; however, heavy usage of the tour bus zone on Canada Place has led to problems and there was no sustainable funding model for the placement of the VPD officer. The proposed use of fees for tour buses to use Canada Place was discussed during two tour bus stakeholder group consultations in December 2018 and February 2019.  As part of the changes an alternate free tour bus zone is being implemented nearby on W. Cordova St. to accommodate tour buses that do not wish to pay the fee and to accommodate overflow tour bus demand. (See map on Figure 2)

The intention of this fee and fine structure as well as additional space on W Cordova St is two-fold:

  • Directly offset the cost of additional VPD resources stationed at Canada Place during the busy summer season (from May 1st to October 15th); and,
  • Encourage tour buses to utilize a new tour bus zone one block south on W. Cordova St. that will be free of charge, thus lowering demand on Canada Place.
  • The costs associated with additional VPD resources for Canada Place are estimated at $175,000 per annum.

Proposed Fee

Seasonal permits will be available for purchase through an invoicing system administered by City staff. Daily permits will be available for purchase through the PayByPhone system.

Existing and New Bus Zones