With hundreds of thousands of people expected to descend on Vancouver’s English Bay and nearby beaches for the annual Honda Celebration of Light fireworks display, TransLink says it’s scaling up transit service.
The fireworks kick off on Saturday, July 28 with a display by South Africa. Sweden competes on Wednesday, Aug. 1, and South Korea on Saturday, Aug. 4.
Last year, the event attracted about 400,000 people per night.
In order to handle the volume, TransLink says it will be adding a number of additional bus trips to and from the downtown core after 6:30 p.m. on fireworks nights.
There will also be bus detours for some West End routes, which you can see here.
WATCH: Successful first night of 2017 Celebration of Light in English Bay
SkyTrain service will also be expanded. Expo and Millennium Line trains will run more frequently throughout the evening, with the last train leaving Waterfront station at 1:15 a.m.
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Bikes will not be permitted on the SkyTrain after 10 p.m. on event nights.
The Canada Line will be operated at rush-hour levels of service throughout the evening, with the last train leaving Waterfront Station at 1:15 a.m. and stopping at Richmond-Brighouse station.
The SeaBus will sail every 10 minutes between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m., reducing to every 15 minutes from 8 p.m. to midnight and every half hour from midnight until the last sailing at 1:22 a.m.
The West Coast Express is adding a single special train service for the Aug. 4 finale only. The train will depart Mission at 7 p.m., and the return trip will leave Waterfront station at midnight.
TransLink says extra transit police and security will also be on hand to help ensure travel is safe with the added crowds.
Transit passengers are being advised to ensure their Compass Card is topped up or to pre-purchase Compass tickets to avoid lineups at transit stations on event nights.
Passengers are also being reminded they can tap their Visa, Mastercard or mobile wallets to pay at fare gates and on buses.
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