The presence of water on three sides limits access to downtown Vancouver.
There are four major bridges: the Lions Gate Bridge, connecting to the North Shore municipalities and the Trans Canada Highway, and the Burrard Street Bridge, Cambie Street Bridge, and Granville Street Bridge, which provide access to the commercial and residential areas south of False Creek.
The Expo Line travels from Waterfront station at the foot of the central harbor and through Dunsmuir Tunnel to the east. The Canada Line travels from Waterfront station and tunnels south under Granville Street and Davie Street, linking downtown to central Richmond and Vancouver International Airport. SeaBus is a passenger-only ferry that connects from Waterfront station to the North Shore in 10–12 minutes. The West Coast Express commuter rail system travels from Waterfront station to the eastern suburbs and exurbs. The West Coast Express travels from Waterfront to Moody Centre, Coquitlam Central, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Maple Meadows Station, Port Haney and Mission City as its terminus station[3] Terminals are also available near Waterfront station for float planes and helicopters.
The historic Waterfront station is the principal transit hub for the downtown core.
Waterfront station is a major intermodal public transportation hub in Downtown Vancouver.
Most north-south Vancouver bus routes serve Downtown Vancouver, in addition to suburban routes from the North Shore and Burnaby.
The bus rapid transit line 98 B-Line had eight stops in the downtown core, primarily along Seymour Street and Burrard Street.
This service was replaced on August 17, 2009 by SkyTrain's Canada Line.
The 95 B-Line started service in December 2016 in conjunction with the opening of the Evergreen Extension, connecting downtown to Simon Fraser University along Hastings Street.
There are two private passenger water taxi operators
(False Creek Ferries and
The Aquabus), providing service between several downtown neighbourhoods, False Creek, and Granville Island.
The city is planning to extend the downtown streetcar from its current route of Granville Island to the Main Street SkyTrain station, with future plans extending it to
Chinatown and then to Stanley Park.