A lack of funds means TransLink can only afford to operate two of three SeaBuses, new CEO Ian Jarvis said yesterday.
TransLink, which has supported five years of significant transit growth, including the $2-billion Canada Line and the $800-million Golden Ears Bridge, is now tightening its belt and looking for efficiencies.
The third SeaBus, the MV Burrard Pacific Breeze, began plying Burrard Inlet in December alongside its 34-year-old cousins, the MV Burrard Otter and MV Burrard Beaver.
All three vessels were put into service during the Olympics, reducing the regular 15-minute schedule to 10 minutes between sailings.
After the Games, TransLink had planned to pull the older vessels from service (one at a time) to refurbish and have all three in operation by 2011.
But Jarvis, who spoke during TransLink’s AGM aboard the Pacific Breeze yesterday, said because of funding, all three vessels are in operation, but only two are in service at a time.
Running a third scheduled SeaBus is more than just the operational costs, he said, because it would require a significant improvement in bus service on the North Shore.
