Soon, you won't need to worry about draining your data on your public transit commute. TransLink and Shaw Communications Inc. have just announced they will be providing FREE Wi-Fi to transit customers across Metro Vancouver.
TransLink bus in Vancouver (meunierd / Shutterstock.com)
And this isn't just for SkyTrain riders: The free Wi-Fi will be available to everyone on bus, SeaBus, and SkyTrain lines, regardless of whether or not they are Shaw customers. Eventually the service will expand to HandyDART and West Coast Express, too.
The first Wi-Fi hubs will go online in 2020. TransLink and Shaw will refine the system design and plan to run trials in 2019, with deployment starting in 2020. TransLink expects the entire network to be completed by 2025. Wi-Fi rollout will begin with SkyTrain and buses.
Because it is being provided by Shaw and TransLink, the major boost in our communications while using transit comes at no cost to taxpayers or riders.
“We have half-a-million people ride our system every day, and when we ask them what they’d like to see on transit, Wi-Fi is one of the most frequent requests,” said TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond in a media release.
This is huge news for anyone who uses public transit time to send emails, get a jump on work or school projects, for social media, or other communication.
