Coast Mountain Bus Company route 2 'Macdonald / Downtown'

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2 Macdonald
TransLink Accessible bullet-b.pngTransLink Bike bullet-b.png
New Flyer XDE60 – 21003 seen at Macdonald Street heading towards 16th Avenue.
Service Area Vancouver
Termini Burrard Station
Dunbar Loop
W. 16th Avenue at Carnarvon Street*
Operations Vancouver Transit Centre
Vehicles NFI D40LF TransLink Accessible bullet-b.png**
NFI DE60LFR TransLink Accessible bullet-b.png
NFI XDE60 TransLink Accessible bullet-b.png
Nova Bus LFS HEV TransLink Accessible bullet-b.png**
Branches 2 Burrard Station
2 Dunbar Loop
2 To 16th Avenue*

* 16th Avenue branch service
** In the event of a bus shortage or snowfall

2 Macdonald TransLink Accessible bullet-b.png is a bus route operated by Coast Mountain Bus Company in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Route Details

This is a north-south route running in Vancouver connecting Dunbar Loop and Downtown Vancouver via Kitsilano, with a branch service to W. 16th Avenue & Carnarvon Street. It is a Frequent Transit Network (FTN) route with service 15 minutes or better for 15 hours or more, seven days a week.

Northbound trips starting at Dunbar Loop head east on W. 41st Avenue, north on MacKenzie Street becoming Quesnel Drive, east on W. King Edward Avenue, north on Macdonald Street becoming Point Grey Road, east on Cornwall Avenue, north on Burrard Street across the Burrard Street Bridge, west on Dunsmuir Street becoming Melville Street and north on Thurlow Street to Thurlow Street & Melville Street where it terminates.

Southbound trips depart from Burrard Station at Thurlow Street & Melville Street heading north on Thurlow Street, east on W. Pender Street, south on Burrard Street and across the Burrard Street Bridge, then west on Cornwall Avenue becoming Point Grey Road becoming Macdonald Street, west on W. King Edward Avenue, south on Quesnel Drive becoming MacKenzie Street, and west on W. 41st Avenue to Dunbar Loop.

Service in both directions between Burrard and Waterfront stations run as a direct, non-stop express.

Southbound trips alternate between the Macdonald routing to Dunbar Loop and the 16th Avenue routing to W. 16th Avenue & Carnarvon Street. On weekdays, there is no evening service on the 16th Avenue branch. Trips running on the 16th Avenue branch operate as 2 To 16th Avenue and travel an alternate route beyond Macdonald Street & W. 16th Avenue.

Northbound trips on this branch start from W. 16th Avenue & Carnarvon Street head east on W. 16th Avenue to Macdonald Street, then north on Macdonald Street, where it continues the regular routing to downtown.

Southbound trips on this branch depart from Burrard Station travelling via the regular route until Macdonald Street & W. 16th Avenue, where it heads west on W. 16th Avenue to W. 16th Avenue & Trutch Street where it does a U-turn and heads east on W. 16th Avenue to Carnarvon Street.

Points of Interest

  • Expo LineR5 Hastings St Burrard Station (Bays 1 & 4 – Dunbar Loop) (Bay 7 – Burrard Station)
  • Hotel Vancouver
  • Robson Street Shopping District
  • St. Paul's Hospital
  • Burrard Street Bridge
  • Vanier Park
  • Space Centre
  • Kitsilano Beach & Pool/Community Centre
  • Carnarvon Park
  • R4 41st Ave Dunbar Loop (Bay 2)

History

This section is only focused on the history of the current 2 route. For the history of the former 2, see the next section below. The current 2 was introduced in June 1997 after being discontinued in April 1997 and ran in different parts of Vancouver.

  • April 1997 - Portions of the 2 proposed as a new bus route connecting Yaletown and False Creek North with Downtown Vancouver, potentially involving changes with the 1 Beach/Gastown[1]
  • June 1997 - Service introduced as 2 Yaletown/Downtown/Macdonald–16th Avenue, a revised short-turn of 22 Downtown trips extending to Yaletown on weekdays and Saturdays only[2]
  • October 2001 - Yaletown portion of the route discontinued due to extremely low ridership and funding shortfall[3][4]
  • September 2002 - Service between Burrard Station and Keefer Street & Taylor Street discontinued due to low ridership
  • December 2010 - Sunday and holiday service introduced[5]
  • June 2016 - Route extended to Dunbar Loop to replace the 22 during the Burrard Corridor Rehabilitation Project – initially as a temporary measure. Northbound trips renamed from 2 Burrard Station to 2 Downtown. Schedule adjusted to alternate between 16th Avenue short-turns and the former 22 Burrard Station–Dunbar Loop portion[6]
  • September 2020 - 23 stops in both directions removed as part of a six-week pilot project for bus stop balancing to improve bus travel times.[7] Permanent discontinuation of two AM peak trips from Macdonald Street & W. 4th Avenue to downtown operated by Burnaby Transit Centre that used articulated buses (these trips were already being cancelled as early as April 2020 due to low ridership related to the COVID-19 pandemic)
  • November 2020 - End of bus stop balancing pilot project results in two removed stops being reinstated at Macdonald & W. 13th and the remainder of removed stops permanently removed
  • January 2022 - Northern terminus revised from Burrard Station to Waterfront Station. Service on Dunsmuir Street, Melville Street, Thurlow Street, and W. Pender Street between Thurlow and Burrard discontinued
  • June 2022 - Service to Waterfront Station discontinued. January 2022 routing changes rolled back and northern terminus reverted back to Burrard Station due to the suspension of Burrard Station upgrade works
  • April 2023 - Various daily service adjustments
    • Peak hour service reduced from every 6–8 minutes to every 7–8 minutes
    • Midday weekday service reduced from every 7–10 minutes to every 10–12 minutes
    • Weekday evening service reduced from every 8–10 minutes to every 10–15 minutes
    • Weekend/holiday midday to late afternoon service reduced from every 10 minutes to every 8–12 minutes
    • Evening and night weekend/holiday service increased from every 20–30 minutes to every 12–15 minutes
  • June 2023 - Service renamed from 2 Macdonald/Downtown to 2 Macdonald as part of an introduction of stacked destination signs on route 2. Northbound trips revised to runs as 2 Macdonald to Burrard Station instead of 2 Downtown and southbound trips revised to run as 2 Macdonald to Dunbar Loop or 2 Macdonald to 16th Avenue instead of 2 Macdonald or 2 Macdonald–16th
  • January 2024 - Introduction of articulated buses. Rollout was initially planned for September 2023 but was deferred due to delays related to delivery of new buses. Various daily service adjustments due to the change in vehicle type:
    • Weekdays: Westbound AM peak hours service reduced from every 6–8 minutes to every 8–9 minutes in the common section
    • Weekends/holidays: Westbound trips reduced from every 8–9 minutes to every 10 minutes in the common section

2 Park & Ride/Downtown

Prior to the current routing structure of the 2, the route used to be a peak-hour express route connecting Downtown Vancouver and the PNE Park & Ride. The service was introduced around 1970–1971 and ran towards downtown in the morning and the PNE Park & Ride in the afternoon. The purpose of this route was to provide a direct, express connection between the downtown core and commuters from the eastern parts of the Lower Mainland who would park their vehicles at the PNE Park & Ride – which was the closest Park & Ride facility to downtown in Vancouver – as direct bus service between downtown and the eastern suburbs was limited at the time. The service often saw low ridership due to competition with other express and local routes that ran along the Hastings corridor.

At the time when the service was discontinued, it ran every 12 minutes.

Below is a timeline of the significant changes to the 2 Park & Ride/Downtown route:

  • 1970–1971 - Service introduced as 2 Park & Ride/Downtown, running from PNE Park & Ride to Hornby Street & Beach Avenue during peak hours only
  • April 1981 - Service revised to interline with the 22 Macdonald–16th Avenue.[8] Westbound routing revised to take Hastings, Carrall, Pender, Burrard instead of continuing on Hastings Street
  • May 1996 - Service discontinued[9]
  • June 1996 - Service cancellation reverted and trips revised to interline with the 1 Beach/Gastown and western terminus moved to Waterfront Station[10]
  • April 1997 - Service discontinued due to low ridership and service duplication by Hastings Street suburban bus services[11]

June 2016 Service Change

Prior to the June 2016 service changes, the 2 ran as 2 Macdonald–16th Avenue/Burrard Station. Service ran every 15 minutes daily, increasing to every 10 minutes during peak hours with no early morning or late-night service. There was also no evening service on Sundays/holidays. From Burrard Station to Macdonald Street & W. 16th Avenue, the 2 ran in tandem with the 22 Knight/Macdonald and shared the same stops and routing. This operation arrangement was due to the fact that a significant portion of the 2 is actually a former branch of the 22, as prior to the June 1997 service change there was a 22 Macdonald–16th Avenue service.

Due to the Burrard Corridor Rehabilitation Project, which involved extensive work on the Burrard Street Bridge, it was decided that the 22 would be shortened to Burrard Station and run instead as 22 Knight/Downtown. The 2 would replace the portion of the 22 between Burrard Station and Dunbar Loop. This was done to ensure a consistent operation and minimal delays to the 22. The schedule for the 2 was adjusted to have earlier and later trips daily and to alternate between the 16th Avenue routing and the former 22's Dunbar Loop routing. The branches of the 2 were also renamed from 2 Burrard Station to 2 Downtown (despite no changes in the northern terminus) and the 16th Avenue service was renamed from 2 Macdonald–16th Avenue to 2 Macdonald–16th for sign simplification purposes.

This change when initially announced was to be a temporary measure until the completion of the Burrard Corridor Rehabilitation project. It has since become a permanent change as no updates were given when construction work was complete on the future state of the 2 and 22 routes.

January 2022 Service Change

As part of the Burrard Station upgrades that are scheduled to begin in 2022 that involve a full closure of the station for two years, the 2 was extended from Burrard Station to Waterfront Station to provide a direct, frequent and consistent bus connection to SkyTrain at Waterfront Station. When the details of the Burrard Station upgrades were first announced in early 2021, it was already proposed that a direct bus service would run between Waterfront and Burrard to maintain SkyTrain access. However, the details at the time did not indicate if it would be a shuttle service or an extension of an existing route.

This change was first announced in an internal memo in October 2021 and a public announcement in December. However, it was not clear if this extension would be a temporary measure or a permanent change even when the construction work at Burrard is completed during both announcements.

In March 2022, TransLink announced that the Burrard Station upgrades would be temporarily suspended and the entire project to be rescoped "due to higher than anticipated construction bid prices during the procurement process."[12] It was determined in April that as part of the June 2022 service changes that the 2 would revert back to terminating at Burrard Station as the extension to Waterfront Station was deemed unnecessary now that the project was being suspended.

Photo Gallery

References

  1. The Buzzer February 21, 1997 Issue translink.ca, retrieved 04-01-2022
  2. The Buzzer June 13, 1997 Issue, translink.ca, retrieved 26-03-2010
  3. Service Cuts for October 15, 2001 listed by Route Number, translink.bc.ca, retrieved 21-09-2009
  4. Service Cuts for October 15, 2001 listed by Route Number translink.ca, archived on Web Archive, retrieved 26-02-2021
  5. The Buzzer December 3, 2010 Issue, translink.ca, retrieved 25-02-2018
  6. The Buzzer June 17, 2016 Issue, translink.ca, retrieved 27-06-2016
  7. TransLink speeding up major Vancouver bus route by removing 25% of the stops, dailyhive.com, retrieved 11-5-2020
  8. The Buzzer April 3, 1981 Issue translink.ca, retrieved 26-04-2020
  9. The Buzzer March 22, 1996 Issue translink.ca, retrieved 02-05-2020
  10. The Buzzer June 14, 1996 Issue, translink.ca, retrieved 27-03-2010
  11. The Buzzer April 4, 1997 Issue, translink.ca, retrieved 25-03-2010
  12. Burrard Station upgrades rescoped translink.ca, retrieved 25-06-2022
v·d·e
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Transit Centres BurnabyHamiltonPort CoquitlamRichmondSurreyVancouver
Closed Transit Centres North VancouverOakridge
Under Contract First TransitWest Vancouver Transit
Former Contractors Bonny's Taxi Ltd.Bowen Island Community TransitDW Services Ltd.Metro Shuttle Service Ltd.First Canada
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Community Shuttle Fleet 16501–16562 17506–17564 18510–18527 19503–19535, 19538–19549 19550–19554 21501–21562 23601–23606 23651–23665
Retired Fleet 1158–1192 1205–1223 1209–1210 2701–2947 3001–3021 3101–3210 3211–3257 3258–3282 3283–3299, 3301–3308 4101–4115 4116–4143 4144–4192 4193–4199, 4201–4278 5501–5508 5509–5521 6601–6630 7101–7150 7151–7197, 7199–7243 7244–7246 7247–7297 7298 7301–7374 8001–8021 8022–8047 8048–8099, 8101 9101–9115 9116–9127 9201–9276
Retired Community Shuttle Fleet S001 S002 (1st) S002 (2nd) S003–S004 S006–S012 S013–S016 S017 S018–S056 S057–S059 S060–S061 S062–S102 S200–S236 S237–S257 S258–S301 S302–S356 S357–S380 S381 S382–S393 S410–S434 S435–S464 S465–S471 S501–S544 S1301–S1320 S1321 S1322–S1325
Paint Schemes BC Transit paint scheme Original B-Line paint scheme New B-Line paint scheme Clean Air Bus paint scheme Ghost paint scheme RapidBus paint scheme Sweep paint scheme Sweep-R paint scheme Blue Sweep-R paint scheme Sweep-R Without Charcoal Suburban paint scheme Suburban grey paint scheme
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SeaBus SeaBus
Current Fleet Burrard BeaverBurrard Pacific BreezeBurrard Otter IIBurrard Chinook
Retired Fleet Burrard Otter
Terminals R2 Marine Dr Lonsdale QuayCanada LineExpo LineTransLink West Coast Express bullet-a.pngR5 Hastings St Waterfront Station
Bus Loops and Exchanges
Vancouver Expo Line 29th Avenue StationBlanca Loop99 B-Line Boundary LoopExpo LineR5 Hastings St Burrard StationExpo LineMillennium Line99 B-Line Commercial–Broadway StationR4 41st Ave Dunbar LoopExpo LineR4 41st Ave Joyce StationKnight Street–Marine DriveR5 Hastings St Kootenay LoopExpo Line Main Street StationCanada Line Marine Drive StationMarpole LoopExpo Line Nanaimo StationStanley Park LoopR4 41st Ave99 B-Line UBC ExchangeCanada LineExpo LineSeaBusTransLink West Coast Express bullet-a.pngR5 Hastings St Waterfront Station
Burnaby &
New West
Expo Line 22nd Street StationExpo Line Braid StationMillennium Line Brentwood StationExpo Line Edmonds StationExpo LineMillennium Line66 Fraser Valley Express Lougheed StationExpo Line New Westminster StationExpo LineMillennium Line Production Way StationExpo Line Metrotown StationR5 Hastings St SFU ExchangeMillennium Line Sperling Station
Tri-Cities Millennium Line Burquitlam StationMillennium LineTransLink West Coast Express bullet-a.pngR3 Lougheed Hwy Coquitlam Central StationMillennium LineTransLink West Coast Express bullet-a.png Moody Centre StationTransLink West Coast Express bullet-a.png Port Coquitlam Station
Richmond Canada Line Bridgeport StationCanada Line Richmond–Brighouse StationSteveston Exchange
North Shore Capilano UniversitySeaBusR2 Marine Dr Lonsdale QuayLynn Valley CentreR2 Marine Dr Park RoyalR2 Marine Dr Phibbs Exchange
Pitt Meadows
& Maple Ridge
R3 Lougheed Hwy Haney PlaceTransLink West Coast Express bullet-a.png Maple Meadows StationTransLink West Coast Express bullet-a.png Pitt Meadows Station
South of Fraser 66 Fraser Valley Express Carvolth ExchangeR1 King George Blvd Guildford ExchangeLadner ExchangeLangley CentreR1 King George BlvdR6 Scott Rd Newton ExchangeExpo LineR6 Scott Rd Scott Road StationScottsdale ExchangeSouth Delta ExchangeSouth Surrey Park and RideExpo LineR1 King George Blvd Surrey Central StationWhite Rock Centre
Former Exchanges Airport StationBrentwood MallCoquitlam StationCoquitlam Recreation CentreCoquitlam Town CentreEast Guildford Park and RideLougheed MallLougheed Park and RideMatthews ExchangeMeadow Ridge CentrePitt Meadows Park and RidePort Moody StationPNE Park and RidePort Coquitlam CentreRenfrew LoopRichmond CentreRichmond ExchangeSexsmith Park and RideSouth Richmond Park and RideUpper Zoo LoopWalnut Grove Park and Ride
Routes
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Conventional

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 14 15 16 17 19 20 22 25 26 27 28 29 32 33 41 44 49 50 80 84 99 100 101 104 106 110 112 116 119 123 128 129 130 133 134 136 143 144 145 150 151 152 153 155 156 159 160 179 183 188 191 209 210 211 212 222 228 229 230 231 232 236 240 241 245 246 247 249 250 253 254 255 257 301 310 311 312 314 316 319 320 321 323 324 325 326 329 335 337 340 341 342 345 350 351 352 354 364 375 388 391 393 394 395 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 410 418 430 480 501 502 503 509 531 555 595 601 602 603 604 606 608 620 640 701 791 900

Community Shuttle 23 31 42 68 102 103 105 109 131 132 146 147 148 157 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 180 181 182 184 185 186 187 189 214 215 227 251 252 256 262 280 281 282 322 360 361 362 363 370 371 372 373 412 413 414 416 560 561 562 563 564 609 614 616 618 619 719 722 733 741 743 744 745 746 748 749
NightBus N8 N9 N10 N15 N17 N19 N20 N22 N24 N35
School Trips 840 848 855 861 863 864 865 880 881
Discontinued/ Renumbered 1 23 35 42 43 51 70 95 96 97 98 102 103 108 114 115 125 131 133 135 137 139 142 147 148 149 150 154 158 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 177 178 179 189 190 197 222 226 226 239 242 258 259 274 290 292 310 317 318 328 330 332 353 355 356 357 358 390 411 420 421 424 425 488 490 491 492 496 506 507 511 590 617 705 709 712 721 722 804 807 828 C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C15 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28 C29 C30 C31 C35 C36 C37 C38 C40 C41 C43 C44 C45 C46 C47 C48 C49 C50 C51 C52 C53 C60 C61 C62 C63 C64 C70 C71 C73 C74 C75 C76 C84 C86 C87 C88 C89 C90 C92 C93 C94 C95 C96 C98 C99 N6 N16Games ExpressMetrotown ShuttleNorth Vancouver Games ExpressSexsmith Park & Ride ShuttleTransLink West Coast Express bullet-a.png TrainBus