Living on the North Shore we walk 10 mins to Lonsdale Quay (a fantastic market - more about that later) where we get the seabus (they leave every 15 mins throughout the day, slowing to every 30 mins around 8pm) for a 10 min journey over the Burrard Inlet to downtown Vancouver. From here we get the skytrain that takes us around Burnaby, to the East, or buses galore over to the West. We have never had to wait more than 10 mins for a bus. But hey, Canada is a big country and if you want to see a bit of it you need a car to get you around as the public transport system is not that good after you get to the city boundary.
The Seabus from the North Shore, Lonsdale Quay, to Downtown Vancouver: