Finally coming back to the UBC blogosphere doing what I do best: talk about commuting.
I’ll (try to) keep this simple and sweet, with .gifs to boot! First things first- GOOD NEWS.
1. I never expected this from Translink, to be quite honest, but once I saw that they were making system-wide changes starting September 5, I couldn’t help but sneak a peek.
I then find this:
Me:
Let’s just say this will give me 15 more minutes of sleep, which is BIG for me, mind you.
2. THE NEW U-PASS SYSTEM
Yes, it deserved the huge font.
Me at first:
Me now:
I’m Patrick, off to look at my SSC and see if I owe UBC any fees so that I can get my U-Pass with no fuss (except for the pains of lining up, but I digress).
I have veerrryyy mixed feelings about the whole thing. On the one hand, okay, fine, I get it, they had to do it. It’s shiny enough, I don’t have to constantly look at my face, and getting it is surprisingly easy (well, if you’re early). On the other hand, getting it every month can turn out to be a pain- especially if the machines have tendencies to break, you need to have your UBC Card when you present it, and well, old habits die hard. I just remembered today that I should get going and get the U-Pass for October- that was the moment it hit me I’ll have to remember every. Single. Month. >.<
I don't mind it, really, it just bugs me a lot that the machines can go down anytime.
3. I never thought I'd have an actual concrete BAD experience, but I just had the worst 99 B-Line ride of my life a week ago.
You know, as someone destined to be a commuter for her entire academic career, I have slowly been developing a patience for it, even gained a slight liking to the me time that commuting can bring. It gets difficult, but I'm starting to tolerate it.
But it's really, really hard to do that when the three 99 B-Line buses are LATE, making the crowd waiting at all the stops 3x bigger than usual. THERE WAS A CROWD AT THE SASAMAT ST. STOP. There is never, never, NEVER a big crowd of people waiting at that stop. NEVER.
The worst part? This was at 1pm. Not rush hour in any way, shape or form. Heck, I went on an earlier bus to make it for my class on time, and with one bus, the legendary 99, I still ended up late.
Needless to say...
Me:
I didn’t mean to end in such a negative note, I swear. Here, have a kitty:
Your Resident Commuting Ranter,
Jennine
P.S. Slowly revamping the blog. I’m trying to make each and every page more interesting, more visual and all. Stay tuned!
I’m not very knowledgeable about transit in the Vancouver area, but the train/bus (I’m not sure which you’re talking about) coming every 20 minutes is considered an improvement? :( I think I’m just too used to living in New York, where only the slowest, least-used buses come that often, and most subway and bus lines arrive every two to 15 minutes, depending on which line and what time it is.
All the graphics made me lols XD