New SeaBus arriving next summer

Residents of Vancouver's North Shore will be able to ride the newest addition to Metro Vancouver's transportation network next summer.

TransLink has signed an agreement with the Washington Marine Group to build a third SeaBus in its Victoria shipyard for a cost of $25 million, TransLink chair Dale Parker announced Wednesday at the North Vancouver SeaBus terminal.

The provincial government will provide nearly $5 million towards the project, said a statement released by Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon.

The third SeaBus will mean more frequent trips across Burrard Inlet for travellers, with crossings every 10 minutes at peak travel times, compared to the current schedule of every 15 minutes at peak times. However, that won't be in place until 2010.

The new vessel will be completed in the summer of 2009 and will replace one of the two older vessels as it is refurbished and updated. All three vessels will be sailing across Burrard Inlet by early 2010.

"This new SeaBus will help reduce traffic and greenhouse gas emissions, which is a key goal of the provincial government's $14 billion transit plan," said Falcon.