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Access Transit Program

Woman in wheelchair boarding a HandyDART bus

The Access Transit Program was established to ensure that accessible transit is integrated into all our transit plans, projects, and programs. The Access Transit team works closely with the Users’ Advisory Committee and the HandyDART Users’ Advisory Committee to implement accessible programs and services.

On this page

    Transit Travel Guide

    TransLink offers a variety of accessible features and services for customers with disabilities. Read our accessible transit travel guide to learn more.

    View Accessible Transit Travel Guide

    TransLink Mobility Guide Training Videos

    Traveling on transit in Metro Vancouver is easy. Watch our mobility guide training videos to learn more.

    View Mobility Training Guides

    Programs

    We offer a variety of services and programs to ensure everyone is comfortable and confident when using public transit.

    In 2023, TransLink became the first transit system in Canada with braille signage at every bus stop to improve transit information available to customers who are blind or partially sighted. This included the installation of signage at more than 8,400 bus stops throughout Metro Vancouver.

    The signs contain:

    • Information written in both Unified English Braille and raised tactile letters

    • Bus stop ID numbers

    • Bus routes serving that bus stop

    • Bay or bus stop indicators

    • Customer Information phone number

    Tactile walking surface indicators were also installed at every bus stop located on property that TransLink owns. These raised surface indicators are mounted to the ground to help customers who are blind or partially sighted know they’re near the bus stop while helping direct them to the front door of the bus.


    Testimonials with described video

    Rob Sleath from Access Transit Users’ Advisory Committee shares his transit experiences and the need for the signs.



    Joan Billesberger from the Canadian Braille Service shares her story and how braille helps her to be more independent.


    In partnership with community groups throughout the region, TransLink provides large group informational workshops for seniors and people with disabilities to assist with independent travel. ‘Train the Trainer’ workshops are also offered for staff and volunteers who support seniors and people with disabilities.

    For more information or to request a workshop, please contact the Travel Training team at 604.953.3636.

    Mobility Aid Training - Using the Bus with a Mobility Device

    Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) provides practice training sessions at Vancouver Transit Centre on how to board and exit a bus using a mobility device. To contact an instructor and book a training appointment, please call 604.264.5420.

    The purpose of the Access Transit Users’ Advisory Committee (UAC) is to advise TransLink on improvements to the accessibility of our conventional transit services (Bus, SkyTrain, SeaBus and West Coast Express). The Committee provides accessibility-related advice on TransLink plans, programs, and other initiatives and is comprised of persons with disabilities, seniors, or their representatives. UAC members are people with disabilities, seniors, or individuals who support people with disabilities and/or seniors. Successful candidates will be appointed to a three-year term.

    For more details about the Committee, please review the UAC Terms of Reference.

    The UAC meets approximately six times per year, and members are appointed for a three year term, with the option to reapply for a second consecutive three year term if they wish.

    Applications for the Access Transit Users' Advisory Committee and HandyDART Users' Advisory Committee closed in October 2025.

    For more information, please contact:

    Access Transit Planning, TransLink
    access.transit@translink.ca
    778.375.7665

    2025 Meeting Agendas and Minutes

    2024

    The HandyDART Users' Advisory Committee (HDUAC) was formed to allow HandyDART customers to provide input on the service. The committee allows us to hear directly from customers and stakeholders to ensure that this service meets their needs. Particularly, as we deliver on an ambitious workplan and policy changes that arose out of the 2017 Custom Transit Service Delivery Review. 

    The purpose of the HDUAC is for HandyDART customers and their representatives and stakeholder groups to provide advice and guidance on HandyDART plans, programs, and other initiatives, and to advise TransLink on matters to improve HandyDART service for customers. HDUAC members are individuals who use HandyDART, or people who provide support for people who use HandyDART. Successful candidates will be appointed to a three-year term.

    For more details about the Committee, please review the HDUAC Terms of Reference.

    The committee is composed of a maximum of 13 members and is intended to represent a diversity of disability sectors, municipal and regional districts, age groups, genders, and cultures.

    Applications for the Access Transit Users' Advisory Committee and HandyDART Users' Advisory Committee closed in October 2025.

    For more information, please contact:
    Access Transit Planning
    778.375.7665
    access.transit@translink.ca

    2025 Meeting Agendas and Minutes

    Past Meeting Agendas and Minutes

    2024

    Starting in September 2025, TransLink and CMBC began testing new on-board announcements on two bus routes. These announcements let customers know when their bus is approaching a stop located next to a multi-use path or one next to a bike lane – also known as an Island Platform Bus Stop. The goal is to make it safer and easier for customers getting off the bus when cyclists may be passing by.

    These announcements will be testing until the end of 2025 on:

    • Route 23 Main St Station/English Bay in Vancouver (at four eastbound bus stops)

    • Route 104 22nd St Station/Annacis Island in New Westminster (at six bus eastbound stops)

    This initiative is designed to improve accessibility, enhance safety for customers getting off at these stops, and raise awareness of this type of bus stop. The idea came from the Design Guide for Bus Stops Adjacent to Cycling Infrastructure, developed by TransLink and the BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit and adopted in April 2024.

    Based on what we learn from this pilot, we’ll look at opportunities to bring on-board announcements to more bus routes with stops next to cycling infrastructure.

    Access Transit Resources

    TransLink is pleased to provide one of the most accessible transit systems in Canada, offering a variety of accessible features and services for customers with disabilities. View our Accessible Transit Travel Guide for more information.

    We're committed to making transit easy to use for people of all ages and abilities.

    In partnership with AutismBC and Beckett 3D Studio, we created a new online tool to help individuals with autism feel more confident when travelling on Metro Vancouver buses.

    Use our virtual bus tool to tour a 3D TransLink bus at your own pace via a desktop computer or mobile device.

    Traveling on transit in Metro Vancouver is easy, follow these mobility guides to learn more.

    Training videos are available in English with American Sign Language (ASL), Described Video, Cantonese, French, Mandarin, Punjabi, and Ukrainian.

    English with ASL

    Compass Cards and Tickets

    View this video in English Described Video, Cantonese, French, Mandarin, Punjabi, and Ukrainian.

     

    Traveling on a Bus

    View this video in English Described Video, Cantonese, French, Mandarin, Punjabi, and Ukrainian.

     

    HandyCard

    View this video in English Described Video, Cantonese, French, Mandarin, Punjabi, and Ukrainian.

     

    Traveling on SkyTrain

    View this video in English Described Video, Cantonese, French, Mandarin, Punjabi, and Ukrainian.

     

    Assistance on transit

    View this video in English Described Video, Cantonese, French, Mandarin, Punjabi, and Ukrainian.

     

    SeaBus overview

    View this video in English Described Video, Cantonese, French, Mandarin, Punjabi, and Ukrainian.

     

    West Coast Express

    View this video in English Described Video, Cantonese, French, Mandarin, Punjabi, and Ukrainian.

     

    Trip planning

    View this video in English Described Video, Cantonese, French, Mandarin, Punjabi, and Ukrainian.

    Accessibility Plan

    The 2023 Accessibility Plan provides actions that identify, remove, and prevent barriers to individuals in or interacting with TransLink and its subsidiaries. These actions will help further our commitment to make our organization accessible and welcoming to people of all ages and abilities. The Plan and associated actions will move us towards fulfilling the vision of Access for Everyone, as identified in Transport 2050.

    This plan presents a total of 32 actions. These actions are distributed across four action areas:

    • Service Design and Delivery

    • Built Environment

    • Information and Communications

    • Transportation

    Actions are categorized as either short term, medium term, or ongoing. The plan will be updated every three years based on feedback received from the public and our advisory committees.

    Read the 2023 Accessibility Plan

    Plan Development

    This plan brings together all the work we do to make our organization more accessible. It includes actions from important documents like Transport 2050, Transport 2050: 10-Year Priorities, and the 2022 Customer Experience Action Plan. Actions were also collected from different teams within TransLink, Coast Mountain Bus Company, BC Rapid Transit Company, and Metro Vancouver Transit Police.

    The plan was also shaped by feedback from the Access Transit User’s Advisory Committee and HandyDART Users’ Advisory Committee, whose members provided valuable feedback and suggestions for new actions that staff incorporated into the plan.

    Background

    The 2023 Accessibility Plan was created in accordance with the Accessible British Columbia Act (ABCA), which was enacted in June 2021. The first regulation of this act, the Accessible British Columbia Regulation, came into effect on September 1, 2022, and identified TransLink as an accessible organization. As an accessible organization, TransLink was required to have the following by September 1, 2023:

    • An accessibility committee;

    • An accessibility plan; and

    • A tool to receive feedback on accessibility.

    What is a Barrier?

    A barrier is anything that hinders the full and equal participation in society of a person with an impairment. They can be caused by environments, attitudes, practices, policies, information, communications, or technologies and be affected by intersecting forms of discrimination.

    Help Us Improve

    We want to hear your feedback on the Accessibility Plan or any barriers you encounter when using our services to be considered during future plan updates.

    For more information, please contact:
    Access Transit Planning
    778.375.7665
    access.transit@translink.ca

    Contact Us

    T: 778.375.7665

    E: access.transit@transink.ca

    T: 604.398.2042

    Toll Free: 1.888.207.4055

    Monday to Sunday 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

    Online Feedback Form

    T: 604.953.3333

    Phone line operating hours: 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days per week.

    X (Twitter): @translink

    X (Twitter) operating hours: 5:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. Monday to Friday. 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday

    We can serve you over the phone in more than 300 languages!

    Call us during operating hours and tell the agent your preferred language. You will be placed on hold while a certified third-party translator is added to the line. View our list of available languages.

    Don’t see your language on the list? Let us know! We’re working with our partners at MCIS to continue to expand our offerings – including local Indigenous languages.

    Sign up for HandyDART

    T: 604.953.3680

    Book or cancel a trip

    T: 604.575.6600

    Trip Feedback

    Complete the HandyDART Feedback Form.

    Note: The HandyDART contractor, Transdev, provides customized transportation to customers with disabilities.

    T: 604.953.3636