All aboard: Olympic Line streetcars are running

Vancouver's Olympic Line demonstration streetcars open their doors. Is it a sign of greener transportation to come?

From January 21 through March 21, the Olympic Line electric streetcars are open to the public. The 1.8-kilometre ride, which runs daily every six to 10 minutes from 6:30 am to 12:30 am, is free. Just hop on at either the Granville Island platform, or the Olympic Village Station, at Cambie St. and 2nd Ave.

I took a ride on one of the two Bombardier-made, 32-metre long FLEXITY cars, and I'll say they are breathtaking: sleek and narrow, yet roomy, they're also very low, allowing an easy step to and fro the platform, and making them a commuter's dream for those with strollers, wheelchairs, or bikes. The ride is smooth and quiet, too.

The Olympic Line isn't just a tourist attraction or a method of shuttling athletes during the Games, it's also a chance for Vancouverites to get a taste of what transportation was like between 1890 and 1955, before the city's extensive streetcar lines were shut down to make way for "modern" transportation (i.e., buses).

The trial run is part of the city's Downtown Streetcar Project, which wants to introduce the public to this form of clean, sustainable public transportation in the hopes of eventually linking Granville Island and False Creek to downtown by streetcar.

And while the trams are just a tease that we have to send back to the citizens of Brussels after two months, here's hoping locals, visitors, and city officials alike get hooked on this efficient, greener way to get around.