No longer useful

Poor little bus pass. It has outlived it's usefulness. I was starting to get funny looks for all the scratches on the zone 2 and 3 patches.

Thanksgiving 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!

Since Thanksgiving in Canada is in October, I worked a half day and then took the afternoon off. Hedgehog Dog and I then walked a 5K in the cold and rain around the perimeter of the local Langara golf course. This was in support of my friend's annual Thanksgiving Day walk for MS. See her post here! We then headed home where we both got a nice hot bath to remove all the mud.


I got to eat dinner while talking to Hedgehog Guy and Hedgehog Best Friend and Tall Friend. The frozen turkey and stuffing dinner was actually good! It was really hard to be away from everyone this holiday. Just felt lonely and none of the traditional things happened, other than eating a huge baked potato. But one has to remember that we're always are making new traditions, and next year we'll have two Thanksgivings - Canadian and U.S.

Hedgehog dog alert

Since last week was all writing with no pictures, this week will be different. Starting with a photo montage of Hedgehog Dog.

Watchin' the world go by

Bus Boon #4 Bus Drivers

Another great thing about taking the bus is that I don't have to drive myself. I now have no need to navigate busy streets that I am unfamiliar with. Let someone else dodge parked cars, avoid pedestrians at every corner, maneuver in and out of the turn lanes, and obey speed limits in kilometers per hour. Ask Hedgehog Guy if you are unclear of these dangers. Never mind having an expert deal with the 500 types of rain that fall here or a permanently foggy windshield.

Bus drivers also seem to be naturally jolly, polite people. I can not imagine doing their job - driving for 15 min here gives me heartburn. Every one says hi or hello or thank you when I board. I have yet to see one upset. I find this a small miracle.

Bus Bummer #4 Have I mentioned the commute time?

Yeah, so it takes a while to get to or from work. Like an hour. This seems extreme to me given the commute times of 5-20 minutes from the past 10 years. But, it is all for the good of the planet, my wallet, my thighs, and of course, science (work).

I have come to appreciate my iPod, even with the missing earfoam on the left side of my headphones. The ride is different everyday due to a different tune.

I have come to appreciate the time to collect myself before work and decompress on the way home.

I have learned to leave a light on for the dog.

I have learned to appreciate a glass of wine after especially bad commutes.

I have learned to enjoy hearing people speak in at least two languages on the way to work and see people reading in three.

Oh yes, and people watching is a great way to pick out new shoes and haircuts.

Losin' some weight

Bus Boon #3 Walking

So I hope it goes without saying that I have to walk to get on the bus. This may seem contradictory to thinking that I take the bus to and from work, but it is true. This walking is a great thing - truly. About 15 min at a steady clip in either direction from the bus stop to the house, on a slight incline on the way home. I have already lost weight, despite my Ramen noodle and cheese diet, or at least moved it around a little. I will keep walking even if the local bus is there. End of story.

Bus Bummer #3 Afternoon lovers

Okay, I appreciate that one is happy to see one's soulmate at the end of a long day. However, I also believe the bus is not the proper place for your honeymoon reunion tour. These acts of "love" only occur on the ride home (interesting observation?) and are much more frequent on Fridays. Or maybe on Fridays I'm more likely to have my own head out of the clouds and notice it more. Whatever, being in the back where everyone can pointedly ignore you is one thing, persisting to make-out in front of everyone is another. You guys rank up there with the girl on the Boston train who persistently called her friend over and over to make certain she wasn't upset with you, only to insure that everyone on the train was.

Now, having said that, I have seen some adorable couples on the bus. Kids who fall asleep in each others arms after sharing a coffee, or who hold hands on the way home. Such images reassure me that the others might have a chance.

Savin' some dough

Bus Boon #2 It's cheap

Riding the bus is cheaper than parking at UBC. Depending on the bus pass I purchase, I save $6-$10 a week by riding the bus instead of driving, not to mention not buying gas. For students, I think it is essentially free to ride since they are provided with an unlimited bus badge by the university. Some companies provide a similar service. Even without purchasing a discounted packet of tickets, adult bus fare is only $2.50 (tickets good for 1.5hrs to allow for connections) to anywhere in the greater Vancouver area.

Bus Bummer #2 Time lost

One major trait of all mass-transit systems is that users give up some control of deciding when they will start and end their journey and how long they will spend traveling. The bus schedules are posted on-line, but the buses I frequent are rarely precisely on time. This means that anything less than a 10min buffer between connections will likely result in you missing a bus. I can't tell you how many times I have been nearing the bus station with at least 5 min before the scheduled stop only to see the bus pulling away. I have given up trying to catch a particular bus in the mornings as I just get angry when it doesn't appear on time.

As a result the toted 37-minute commute on-line, is more like 1.5 hours as you wait for the bus to come, wait on the bus in traffic, and wait for people to get off at every single stop.

One example of the annoyance of off-schedule/non-existent buses: I planned very carefully to take a specific bus home one night so that I wouldn't get caught waiting at a semi-random bus stop in the no-man's land between the times the normal buses and the night buses run. (The night buses run from 1:30-4:30 am, but only at half-hour intervals while normal buses run every 15-20 min.) But that first bus was late, and I ended up sitting for 30 min on a cold, dark bench dressed as a pink Care Bear. I don't know who was more frightened, me or the lady sitting next to me on the bench.

Lost time waiting on the bus also comes from the streets they must travel. To be convenient to the most riders, the buses travel on the busiest streets, which adds to the commute time as they have to wade through traffic. The buses also don't run continuously, so missing one means a 15-30 minute wait on all but the few major routes. Try planning to see a movie with that kind of uncertainty.

Ridin' the Bus

Bus Boon #1 Lean, green, people-moving machine

I ride the bus because it is environmentally friendly. As a bus rider, I make one less car on the road. With full buses of 50-125 people, that makes a difference in air pollution, in oil production and consumption, and in materials - think of all the stuff that goes into having and maintaining a car! Many of the buses in Vancouver are electric, reducing pollution and smog levels drastically. I have yet to see the "haze" here that accompanies my memories of LA, NYC, Dallas, and Atlanta.

Now one criticism of this boon is that lots of empty buses run, making the system inefficient overall. While I would say this was true in Tallahassee, it is not here (see below). I have yet to see an empty bus. Parking is not a huge dilemma on campus because everyone rides the bus. None of my co-workers have cars, the bus takes them everywhere. What a change of culture!



Bus Bummer #1 Lean, green, people-moving machine

The same thing that makes the bus great also is my biggest annoyance - other people ride it too! Lots of other people. At least on the route I frequent the most. Crowding in the morning means that I rarely get to sit on the way to work and often end up sweaty and annoyed before even entering the lab. Standing doesn't really bother me, but being packed in literally like a sardine while standing on a moving bus does. My bus is an express route, so many people ride it for the advantages of fewer possible stopping points and a ride directly to UBC (well, sort of direct). This is why I chose this bus as well. I also choose to ride at peak times. Guess why these are "peak" times? The afternoon is less of a problem than the morning. In the morning I board in the middle of the route, and it's full from start to stop. In the evening I board at the origin of the route and can choose any seat I want, granted I get in line early enough!

Again, I'm glad and proud that so many people ride the bus, but crowding is a problem on my route, especially on rainy days or when a bus is late. I have tried other routes, and while less crowded, my commute times increases almost exponentially due to the added stops. I have tried riding earlier or later in the morning to no relief.

Crowding bothers me the most when it can be avoided. New riders must board at the front to pay and rely on others to move back to provide room. The problem on my route is that the bus is an articulated bus - one bus with another one hooked on the end (see pic). Going around corners is reminiscent of being on a roller coaster where you can see part of the ride turning ahead of you... This configuration means that there is literally a "pinch point", no joke it's printed on the inside of the bus, where the two buses join with a spinning metal disc for a floor and rubber, accordion-like strips for walls. No one wants to walk across or stand in the connector area. It is a bit scary, although seats and poles are built there. So people don't move past this point unless forced to (I am not such a forceful person, seriously, think of me, nice, not mean). As a result, the front of the bus gets really steamy and full of annoyed people who glare at the people at the back of the bus.

So I always move back a little more at each stop. Or stand or sit near the doorwell if my stop is close so I don't have to wade through the crowd. And always take my backpack off so it isn't bumping or blocking people I can't see. It's okay, really, to be considerate of others.