Longer wait for new SeaBus
By Jeff Nagel
Published: November 07, 2008 12:00 PM
Updated: November 07, 2008 12:59 PM
A third SeaBus that was to go into service next summer has had its launch date pushed back a few months.
The new passenger ferry is now expected to begin plying the waters of Burrard Inlet next September or October, TransLink spokesman Drew Snider said.
A previous launch date of July 24 had been promised by Washington Marine Group, which is being paid $25 million to build the new vessel in Victoria.
Transit riders won't feel the full impact of three SeaBuses – including more frequent sailings every 10 minutes at peak times, versus 15 minutes now – until late in 2010.
That's because the 12 months after the third vessel launches will see the existing 30-year-old Beaver and Otter take their own turns in the shipyard for upgrades.
The new SeaBus will also get its own name and TransLink is now asking transit users to help come up with one.
The Otter got its name from the aquatic critters passengers can sometimes spot while crossing between Lonsdale Quay and Waterfront Station.
The Beaver was named in part for the historic steamship serving the coast between Portland and Vancouver until running aground in 1888.
TransLink's name-the-SeaBus contest runs until Nov. 21. Email suggestions to
seabus_name@translink.bc.ca, enter at
www.translink.bc.ca or look for entry forms in local community newspapers.
Entrants get a chance to win transit passes as well as a ride on the inaugural sailing and the "warm and fuzzy feeling" they'll have each time they board the boat they named.
The SeaBus carries five million passengers a year.