In the wake of media reports criticizing the lack of transportation options for Squamish Olympic ticket-holders, VANOC announced a new dedicated route to the Callaghan Valley this week.

Local Olympic pundit Cliff Miller was quoted in the Vancouver Sun last weekend criticizing VANOC for directing locals to take a bus to Whistler in order to get to Callaghan Valley’s Whistler Olympic Park 45 km north of Squamish.

On Tuesday (Jan. 19), VANOC media relations officer Erin Mikaluk delivered the newly announced bus route allowing locals to travel directly from Squamish to the Nordic venue.

VANOC will provide a complimentary Whistler Olympic Park shuttle for Squamish residents and their guests departing from the Squamish Transit Exchange on Discovery Way beside Wal Mart, according to the announcement.

Passengers will be required to prepare in advance, however, by securing a day-of-event boarding pass decal, and presenting a day-of-event ticket and government-issued photo ID upon arrival.

Boarding pass decals can be picked up at the Squamish Sea to Sky checkpoint permitting office at 40437 Tantalus Road starting Monday (Jan. 25). Proof of Squamish residency and your Olympic event ticket must be presented.

Squamish residents and their guests with tickets to Olympic events at The Whistler Sliding Centre, Whistler Creekside and Whistler Medals Plaza will have access to free BC Transit service on the day of their Olympic event.

The BC Transit service will run from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily, connecting commuter service routes throughout Squamish to the Squamish Transit Exchange.

For those wishing to travel north without Olympic tickets, riders can board a BC Transit #98 commuter bus for $10 one way or $95 for the month.

Northbound drivers will be required to provide a permit at a checkpoint at Alice Lake between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. A proof of parking or relevant business operations is required to secure a permit.  

Southbound ticket-holders wishing to take public transit are out of luck, as options remain limited to Greyhound’s recently curtailed schedule and private vehicles with drivers facing few parking options.

“VANOC is not servicing southbound spectator travel from the Sea to Sky Corridor,” stated Mikaluk.

Greyhound provides seven southbound departures a day beginning at 9:20 a.m. and ending at 9:50 p.m.

VANOC’s travelsmart2010.ca website provides numerous park and ride locations, including Lions Bay and Capilano College, where travellers can access public transit into Vancouver.

However spectators going to Cypress can only reach the venue through the Olympic Bus Network. Cypress bus hubs locations and purchasing of seats can be done online at travelsmart2010.ca.

A VANOC operated shuttle will be provided to Squamish-based VANOC workforce going north. Southbound workers will have the same options as the general public.