SEABUS

The passenger-catamarans "Burrard Otter" and "Burrard Beaver" are the focal point of an integrated land-marine transportation link across Burrard Inlet, British Columbia. The water route is 1.75 nautical miles and links North Vancouver, a bedroom community with some industry, to Vancouver, the business center of British Columbia. The surrounding population is approximately 1,179,000. The official population of North Vancouver is 60,000, and the population of Vancouver is 500,000. The North Vancouver marine terminal is also a land bus interchange, while the Vancouver side forms a land bus pick-up up-drop off point only. The Seabus system includes, besides an operating organization of 65 people; two 400-passenger ferries, two floating flow-through terminals, each of which is "E" shaped with two slips, an administration-maintenance building, and maintenance and overhaul berths. The system has been designed to expand to a total of 8 ferries when required. Average usage per day is approximately 14,000 with the expected morning and afternoon peaks and an unexpected evening peak. These usage figures are based on two months of initial service which commenced on June 17, 1977. A private ferry operation closed down 19 years previously and the cross inlet traffic has been handled by two bridges until this point in time. Design of the system and hardware, by Case Existological Laboratories Ltd., began in October of 1974. Operation of the system began 32 months later. Seven contracts worth $35,000,000, and the organizing and training of the personnel occurred during this intense 32-month period. Even more interesting during this period was a radical change of government half way throught the design and construction phase and three months of construction strikes. Public acceptance has been excellent, and an attractive marine option to the automobile has been firmly estabilished in the North Vancouver-Vancouver area.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Proceedings of Second International Waterborne Transportation Conference, October 5-7, 1977, New York City. Available April, 1978, approximately 750 pages, Cost: to ASCE members $15.00; non-members $30.00.
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society of Civil Engineers

  345 East 47th Street
  New York, NY  United States  10017-2398
• Authors:
  • Case, J N
• Publication Date: 1977

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Catamarans; Ferries; Intermodal terminals; Marine transit; Passenger ships; Passenger transportation
• Old TRIS Terms: Passenger vessels; Terminal facilities
• Subject Areas: Marine Transportation; Passenger Transportation; Public Transportation; Terminals and Facilities; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00170267
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: American Society of Civil Engineers
• Report/Paper Numbers: Proceeding
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 14 1981 12:00AM