Pride Bus

Brendan Kergin

There are a lot of brightly coloured busses around Vancouver thanks to creative marketing teams, but a unique one has just taken to the streets.

TransLink has once again sent their PrideBus out into the world, decorated in a new rainbow flag-esque design. The bus is already in service and will continue on through the summer on regular routes, except on July 31, when it’s part of the annual Vancouver Pride Parade.

“Keep an eye out for TransLink’s PrideBus out on the streets of Vancouver during our festival!” says Vancouver Pride Society Interim Executive Director Lee Keple in a press release.

The parade, which is coming up this weekend, will play havoc with traffic in the West End on July 31, as it runs along Beach Avenue (near Jervis Street) to Denman Street before turning east along Robson Street, ending at Jervis. Along with staging areas it will block a large portion of the neighbourhood.

Because of the parade, TransLink is also noting some route changes for the Sunday event.

“As a result (of the parade), there will be limited service to the west side of downtown Vancouver and customers should plan for extra travel time.,” says Translink in the release. “There will be no bus service along Robson Street, Denman Street, or Beach Avenue.”

At the same time there are other service changes just for July 31, with increased buses at Burrard Station and Lonsdale Quay and increased service on the Expo and Millennium Lines. To help plan trips, Translink suggests their trip planner.