Next Bus

Next Bus lets you search by route number, bus stop number or your current location (if you have a GPS-enabled phone). You can also browse a list of all routes or look up your stop number (the 5-digit bus stop # printed in yellow at the top of every bus stop sign). Use Favourites to save your routes and stops for easy access next time you need them.

You can access Next Bus via a mobile smartphone, tablet or desktop computer.

Watch our video to learn more about Next Bus and TransLink's mobile website. If you have any questions you can check out our FAQ below, or send us some feedback.

• How It Works

  Using satellite tracking on buses, Next Bus gives you real-time transit information by estimating when the next vehicle will depart, based on its last reported location.

  A bus' reported location will update a minimum of every 120 seconds, or when a bus passes its stop or picks up passengers and departs from a stop.

  If it can't make an accurate prediction, Next Bus will show the scheduled departure time instead, denoted by an *.

  Using Map View

  On the map, bus stops are noted by a "T" symbol, and stops can only be seen at specific zoom levels in order to reduce map clutter. You can access information for any bus stop by clicking on the stop itself ("T" symbol), even if that's not the stop you initially searched for. Click on any bus route number in a Next Bus bubble to have that bus' route display on the map.

  

  When searching by route, the possible paths a bus can take to a destination will display as a blue line. Some routes have multiple possible paths to a destination, so don't be alarmed if you see a bus off the route! When you click on a bus, the path that particular bus is on will turn orange, any other bus driving that path (in the same direction) will become orange, and any stop serviced by that path will also turn orange. The other paths, as well as any buses or stops not using/servicing the path you've selected, will remain blue (orange paths are layered on top of the blue path, so you might not see the entire blue line anymore).

  If you click on a bus icon, you will see the destination sign indicating where that bus is going (e.g. 29th Ave Stn) and the orange line will indicate the path by which it gets to that destination.

  Check out the example below using the #16 route. The possible paths are blue, and the particular path chosen is displayed in orange. Bus stops that this path serves are also orange. The blue bus sitting on the orange path is travelling in the opposite direction of the selected orange bus.

  

  Favourites

  To favourite a stop or route, click on the Favourites icon in the menu bar at the top of either the map or text view. Note: if you clear your cache or cookies, your favourites will be deleted.

  Limitations

  Re-Routes and Disruptions
  Planned transit service disruptions, re-routes due to construction and special events aren't always available in Next Bus. For the most up-to-date service disruption details, visit our Alerts section.

  Service Availability
  Real-Time information is currently unavailable for West Van Blue Bus, New Westminster Community Shuttles, Langley Community Shuttles and Tsawwassen First Nation Community Shuttles. Scheduled information is still available for these routes.

  Express Buses (B-Line)
  Express buses will generally receive location updates less frequently than regular buses, so make sure to give yourself extra time to catch an express bus.

  Device support
  Right now, Next Bus officially supports iPhone, iPad and Android devices. 

  Next Bus has been tested on Blackberry touchscreen phones running OS 6 and 7 and doesn't support older Blackberries (non-touchscreen). All Blackberry users interacting with the map view may experience system crashes, so we recommend using text view.

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• Tips & Tricks

  Refresh Next Bus often to make sure the vehicle isn't running faster or slower than when you last checked.

  Estimated departure times are auto-refreshed every 30 seconds in both map and text view, so it's best to arrive 5 minutes prior to your estimated departure time.

  "Now" is only accurate within a two minute window, 90% of the time. When a bus is due to depart in two minutes or less from a stop, the system will display the message "now", but it may not have shown up at the stop yet. The time might also still say "now" 20 to 30 seconds after the bus has already departed from the stop.

  Use the Preferences section to choose how your departure times are displayed (countdown (default) or clock time, e.g. 10:25 a.m.), or to change the Next Bus homepage search default from text to map view.

  Save routes and stops to Favourites if you use Next Bus often. It'll save you time.

  If a scheduled bus doesn't arrive at your stop, check transit Alerts, follow @TransLink (bonus tip: critical alerts, and our Twitter feed, are posted on the m.translink.ca homepage) or call Customer Information at 604.953.3333. Note: re-routes and diversions are not consistently integrated into Next Bus

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• FAQ

  Q: Why is my screen blank in map or text view when I search for routes or bus stops? Why can't I save my preferences? Why can't I save my favourites?
  A: Your browser must be set to accept cookies in order to display valid search results/departure times or to save preferences and favourites.

  iPhone Users
  From the Home screen choose Settings > Safari, then select "Accept Cookies" and choose "From visited" or "Always".

  Android Users
  From the browser, select Menu > More > Settings , then select "Accept cookies".

  Blackberry Users
  Go to "Privacy and Security", select "browser options" and check "Accept Cookies".

  Internet Explorer Users
  From the browser menu select Tools > Internet Options > Privacy (tab) > Settings. From here, move the slider to "Medium" or select the "Default" button to allow cookies.

  FireFox Users
  Click on the Firefox button ("Tools" menu in Windows XP) then select Options > Privacy (panel) and set the "Firefox will" item to "Use custom settings for history". Check the "Accept cookies from sites" box to enable cookies.

  Chrome Users
  From the browser, click the wrench icon and navigate to Settings > Under the Hood > Privacy > Content Settings > Cookies (tab). Make sure "Allow local data to be set" is selected to allow both first-party and third-party cookies. If you only want to accept first-party cookies, select the "Block all third-party cookies without exception" checkbox.

   

  Q: Why can't I get my current GPS location?
  A: You must enable GPS location for your phone and reset the location access message, if applicable. The first time you use Next Bus in your mobile browser, you're prompted to "Allow" Next Bus to use your location. If you opted out, you can clear your location settings to receive the prompt again, and allow Next Bus to access your location.

  Reset location access message:

  iPhone users [Safari (iOS)]
  From your Home screen, go to Settings > General > Reset, then select Reset Location Warnings. Note: This will reset your location warnings for all sites and applications.

  Android users
  Go to Menu > More > Settings, then go to Website settings > nb.translink.ca > Clear location settings.

  Enable location access:

  iPhone users
  Go to Settings > General > Location Services and make sure "Location Services" is switched to "On".

  Android users
  Go to Menu > Settings > Location & Security, and make sure "Use wireless networks" is checked.

  Blackberry users
  On the home screen or in a folder, click the "Options" icon, then choose Device > Location Setting and change the "Location Services" field to "Location On" and save.

   

  Q: My bus shows as departing "now". Why isn’t the bus at my stop?
  A: When a bus is due to depart in two minutes or less from a stop, the system will display the message "now". Your bus might not have shown up yet, or it might have already left.

   

  Q: In map view my bus doesn’t match the estimated time for my stop.
  A: The estimated times in text view are generally more accurate than the bus positions in map view. The bus positions in map view are updated less frequently than the estimated times in text view.

   

  Q: Why did a bus that I saw on the street not show up on Next Bus?
  A: The GPS or wireless communications hardware on the bus might be malfunctioning and not communicating with the Next Bus system. Scheduled times* will appear if the GPS or wireless communications hardware is off-line.

  Feedback will help us make improvements. If you experience this or any other problem, let us know!

   

  Q: When will SMS real-time updates be available?
  A: Next Bus SMS now reports real-time updates!

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• Release Notes

  1.2

  July 19, 2012

  New Features
  - The text view has been redesigned from a column view to a row view to improve the usability of the departure times within the text view
  - Cancelled stops are now explicitly mentioned on the text view
  - The navigation icon is enabled on the map view for Windows phone users
  - The error messages / dialog boxes were modified to be voice-over compatible
  - Footer navigation was added to all the 'Text View' pages

   

  Bug Fixes
  - Added back self-location "pin" on the map view when the "Use current GPS location" is activated
  - Additional minor bug fixes

   

  1.1

  May 31, 2012

  Homepage Improvements
  - The Next Bus homepage has been simplified with text and map view search options now available in the Preferences section.

   

  Set your Preferences
  - Change departure time display from countdown (default) to clock time (e.g. 10:25 a.m.) 
  - Change default homepage search from text to map view

  
  

  1.0.3

  May 15, 2012

  Accessibility Improvements
  - A series of modifications have been made to enhance Next Bus accessibility when using the iPhone VoiceOver feature.

   

  1.0.2

  May 8, 2012

  BlackBerry OS 5 Device Support
  - Next Bus home page is now displaying on BlackBerry OS 5.

   

  1.0.1

  April 26, 2012

  Bug Fixes
  - Fixed the bug that causes the next one or two bus predictive or scheduled departure times to not be displayed at a bus loop or at the start of bus route.
  - Fixed the bug that was displaying extra “no real-time information available” data (asterisks and scheduled times).

   

  1.0

  April 19, 2012

  Destination sign added
  Addition of bus destination sign. Direction bound is now replaced by destination signs such as "9 to Alma/Granville/Oak/UBC" when performing a route search.

  Bug Fixes:
  - Map view search now centering on location selected.

   

  B.11

  April 12, 2012

  Increase in departure time accuracy
  20-30 seconds after a bus departs from a stop, a real-time update is provided and the message "now" will disappear, indicating that the bus has left its stop.

  Scheduled Next Bus – 24hr
  If your next bus is scheduled within the next 24 hours, you will see the schedule information in text view for each bus stop.

  Bug fixes:
  - Minor bug fixes.
  - Night time bus departure times now available.

   

  B.10

  March 27, 2012

  Predictive departure times in map and text view.

  Bus route lookup
  A listing of all bus routes operating in the next 24 hours.

  Bus stop lookup
  If you don't know your bus stop number, you can look it up by entering an address, intersection or landmark. Search results will be returned within 500 metres of the closet bus stop.

  Bus trip cancellations
  You can view if a bus stop or trip is cancelled. Bus re-routes, special events or other planned transit service disruptions are made available in Next Bus data (to the best of our ability). Note: there is currently no integration between Next Bus and Alerts.

  Trip destination
  You can view your trip destination in text view. E.g. "9 to UBC / 9 to Alma", etc.

  Auto reload
  Departure times will automatically reload every 30 seconds. After 5 minutes of inactivity, you'll have to refresh your browser to re-activate auto reload.

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• Developer API

  TransLink has a Next Bus API (Application Programming Interface) available to the transit development community as an open source product. This enables software developers to build custom mobile applications and websites. For more information regarding the TransLink Open API, go to developer.translink.ca or to provide feedback, visit TransLink's Google Group.

  TransLink is also partnering with Google's Live Transit Updates program, and will use the GTFS-realtime specification to upgrade the currently scheduled transit data to real-time data on Google Transit.

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