Chateau Petrus Posted November 25, 2009 Report Posted November 25, 2009 My question is for the people of Vancouver and is very simple. Have you heard if it will be possible to travel easily with a cab during the Games ? (with all those street closed for pedestrian or reserved as olympic line) On a specific day I have an event finishing at the Richmond Oval at 16h30 and a hockey game starting at 16h30. I'm ok to miss the first period, hoping to make it for the start of the second period. If I use Translink : I have 20 minutes to walk to the Aberdeen station (of the Canada Line), 20-25 minutes to arrive at the closest station to the arena and another 20-25 minutes to walk to the arena, pass the security control and reach my seat. (security control should be very fast since the game allreay started) I will then probablly miss a good part of the second period. If I have the possibility to take a cab from the Oval to GM Place I will probably save a lot of time but again, my question is : Will it be possible to travel easily by cab ? Thanks for your help.
mr.x Posted November 25, 2009 Report Posted November 25, 2009 We have terrible cabs, and we don't have many of them. Public transit is your best option. Lansdowne Station is actually much closer to Richmond Oval. It's a 10-minute walk. As for taking public transit, you will most likely have to wait for several trains before being able to get on. Add maybe another 15-minutes to that. SkyTrain will be absolutely packed. It is advised that you give up either of those tickets (oval or gm place). You will not be getting your money's worth by missing out on a lot.
Kenadian Posted November 30, 2009 Report Posted November 30, 2009 Lansdowne and Brighouse stations are closer to the Oval. You can also get off at Vancouver City Centre and cross over to Granville Station, then get off at Stadium and presto, you're outside of GM Place...sorry, Canada Hockey Place. If you take a cab, he'll have to take you down Cambie Street and drop you off at Cambie and Georgia because the rest of the area is closed off. And Cambie gets strange after the bridge...you'll actually be in Smithe then have to turn right onto Cambie. There's also a double advantage to taking a cab down Cambie. If you find the traffic too slow, you can get out and take the Canada Line at the nearest station.
OshforUSA2010 Posted December 14, 2009 Report Posted December 14, 2009 I was wondering if it is possible to take a cab to Cypress Mountain during the games. I contacted a few cab companies and they said they believed it would be possible to do so, but I just wanted to make sure.
jawnbc Posted December 15, 2009 Report Posted December 15, 2009 It will not be possible. Only accredited vehicles--VANOC fleet and OBN buses--will have access. And folks like police and firefighters and ambulances, of course. Vanoc does not want to have to scan taxis for security purposes. I was wondering if it is possible to take a cab to Cypress Mountain during the games. I contacted a few cab companies and they said they believed it would be possible to do so, but I just wanted to make sure.
Faster Posted December 15, 2009 Report Posted December 15, 2009 You can take a taxi to West Vancouver and than take West Vancouver public transportation to the venue. Just like for Whistler you can take commercial transport up to Whistler and use the local transportation to get around.
OshforUSA2010 Posted December 15, 2009 Report Posted December 15, 2009 You can take a taxi to West Vancouver and than take West Vancouver public transportation to the venue. Just like for Whistler you can take commercial transport up to Whistler and use the local transportation to get around. How would I go about doing that? The problem I have is that I get into Vancouver on the 17th by way of Amtrak and I need to be at Cypress Mountain within an hour. The Olympic bus network won't work because the times are bad for my schedule. That day I have mens halfpipe and I am willing to miss some of the prelims. What should I do? Should I miss some of the event by using the bus network or is there another way?
Faster Posted December 15, 2009 Report Posted December 15, 2009 I am not exactly sure, you just have to look through BC transits information. And by West Vancouver I mean North Vancouver.
mr.x Posted December 15, 2009 Report Posted December 15, 2009 I am 90% sure that taxi's and all private vehicles are forbidden up the road to Cypress. There are transport problems to Cypress as well as it's just a 2-lane road up the slope to the ski area. Even then, taking a cab in the city is highly not recommended. They are absolutely terrible. And it'll be hard to find a cab considering that we have so few of them.
TampaExplorer Posted December 15, 2009 Report Posted December 15, 2009 As soon as the transportation tickets for Cypress Mountain went on sale, I tried several times to buy my tickets from Lonsdale Quay to Cypress. After a struggle, I was able to book two of my three needed days. Last Sunday, I got very close to reserving the third day but something always failed each time I got close. I tried to call but being in the EST caused timing problems. I finally was able to call and then learned that all busses from LQ to CM were sold out. It was suggested I try Capilano University. So you have a 70 minute trip from downtown to Cap. U (with the transfer) and another 40 to the CM. Once at CM, you face a 2 km walk uphill on snow. Let's call that 40 minutes to actually get to your seat. Is 30 minutes reasonable for the security check lines? So, facing a 51/2 hour round trip for a one hour event (FR 008). Hopefully more busses will become available from LQ. A quick look for private coach options turned up blank. Perhaps a company like CoSport might sell transfer tickets only since they may have partially filled busses going up with there clients. Any estimates on what a taxi cab would charge from downtown to Cap U? I originally thought the big bottleneck would be at the SeaBus station in downtown Vancouver. I was wrong, I think the LQ Seabus station for the return will be a problem. On some days there will be people arriving from several different events (Whistler and CM) at the same time. At least the departures are scattered. Any thoughts on how to get to CM with LQ being sold out?
jawnbc Posted December 15, 2009 Report Posted December 15, 2009 Take your taxi to Cap College instead. From the train station a taxi can boot down 1st Ave East and then onto Hwy 1 over the Ironworker's Mem Bridge. From there Cap College is about 10 minutes. That would be faster than a cab over to Lonsdale anyway. There is no public transport to Cypress Mountain. None. Nada. Nicht. And that's the way locals want it: Grouse is on the transit grid and gets much busiers as a result. Cypress users pay more for better access and a better mountain. Cypress runs its own shuttle buses when the mountain is open, but they're about the same price as the OBN anyway. So getting to West Vancouver would put you in a worse position than Cap College. As soon as the transportation tickets for Cypress Mountain went on sale, I tried several times to buy my tickets from Lonsdale Quay to Cypress. After a struggle, I was able to book two of my three needed days. Last Sunday, I got very close to reserving the third day but something always failed each time I got close. I tried to call but being in the EST caused timing problems. I finally was able to call and then learned that all busses from LQ to CM were sold out. It was suggested I try Capilano University. So you have a 70 minute trip from downtown to Cap. U (with the transfer) and another 40 to the CM. Once at CM, you face a 2 km walk uphill on snow. Let's call that 40 minutes to actually get to your seat. Is 30 minutes reasonable for the security check lines? So, facing a 51/2 hour round trip for a one hour event (FR 008). Hopefully more busses will become available from LQ. A quick look for private coach options turned up blank. Perhaps a company like CoSport might sell transfer tickets only since they may have partially filled busses going up with there clients. Any estimates on what a taxi cab would charge from downtown to Cap U? I originally thought the big bottleneck would be at the SeaBus station in downtown Vancouver. I was wrong, I think the LQ Seabus station for the return will be a problem. On some days there will be people arriving from several different events (Whistler and CM) at the same time. At least the departures are scattered. Any thoughts on how to get to CM with LQ being sold out?
OshforUSA2010 Posted December 15, 2009 Report Posted December 15, 2009 So I gather that with my situation it would be best to take a taxi to Capilano University and then use the Olympic Bus Network from there? How long do you think it will take to get into the venue from the drop off point? Thanks for all the information
jawnbc Posted December 16, 2009 Report Posted December 16, 2009 I think their estimate is about an hour...it's somewhere on the OBN booking site. Outside of the Olympics it would take 20 minutes via car with no traffic. So I gather that with my situation it would be best to take a taxi to Capilano University and then use the Olympic Bus Network from there? How long do you think it will take to get into the venue from the drop off point? Thanks for all the information
thatsnotmypuppy Posted December 21, 2009 Report Posted December 21, 2009 Security checks seem arduous but tend to be quite fast at all the Games I have attended. Maybe 20 odd minutes in Beijing for instance. I am baffled at the massive walk uphill at Cypress at well. At least at Whistler you can take a gondola Surely if they can run disabled shuttles back and forth they could rig up a towline or something? Have a drop off point higher up? The walk down is not an issue - the walk up may be hazardous and exhausting for older attendees.
memorabilia Posted December 21, 2009 Report Posted December 21, 2009 (edited) Security checks seem arduous but tend to be quite fast at all the Games I have attended. Maybe 20 odd minutes in Beijing for instance.I am baffled at the massive walk uphill at Cypress at well. At least at Whistler you can take a gondola Surely if they can run disabled shuttles back and forth they could rig up a towline or something? Have a drop off point higher up? The walk down is not an issue - the walk up may be hazardous and exhausting for older attendees. In Whistler you will have a gondola (but not everybody should use it if you want to be on time at your event) for the Bobsleigh's venue & the Alpine Skiing's venue but for the nordic venues you will have to walk between 1km to 1.2km !!! For sure less than the 2km at Cypress' venue... Edited December 21, 2009 by memorabilia
Recommended Posts