Photos: Inefficient fare inspection on the 99 B-Line in Vancouver just holds up the line
Another day, another massive lineup. You think I'd be used to this by now.
According to Drew Snider at Translink, a B-Line bus holds about 100 people. I had to wait for the fourth B-Line to arrive this morning before I could board the bus. That means there were at least 300 people in line ahead of me today, a line that stretched out the station entrance on Commercial Drive.
The thing that really galls me? Transit security was checking fares today at the doors of the bus. You can't see this happening until you're within 10 feet of the doors (this lineup, as you can see, is much much longer than 10 feet). Without announcing this to everyone in line, that means that people hold the line up further by having to rummage through their bags to find their fares.
I can get behind checking tickets. But wouldn't it make more sense for transit security to announce to the line that fare inspection is in play and for everyone to ensure they have their fares ready? How hard would it be to walk up and down the line during the wait between bus arrivals to check fares, instead of further holding people up at the door?
Also, the buses were not running back to back this morning. There was a two to three minute wait in between each.
It's pretty discouraging to arrive at the Broadway-Commercial Drive station to this sight in the morning.
This is two lines, not one. My crude estimating puts the number of people ahead of me in my line at 70-80. The line beside me was the same.
Instead of checking fares at the door to the bus, wouldn't it make more sense for transit security to a) announce to everyone in line that fare inspections were happening or b) traverse the line between bus arrivals to ensure people in the queue had their fares? Instead, people have to rummage through their bags for their bus passes before boarding, further holding up the line.
Follow a very cranky Miranda Nelson on Twitter @charenton_.
Comments
13 Comments
jax5
Sep 22, 2010 at 9:43am
or maybe it's time we got rid of a stupid honor system and switch over to the same system every.other.city.uses. with turnstiles. you know how much revenue they lose every year because of this,driving fares up?
LTD.Edition
Sep 22, 2010 at 9:48am
I think it's funny that translink built the VCC station and #84 bus to relieve congestion. It goes virtually unused whenever I am there, but whatever, more 99's would've just made too much sense.
publican
Sep 22, 2010 at 9:59am
why don't they check ON the bus? you can't get nabbed for fare evasion if you're not on the bus yet
Steven Smethurst
Sep 22, 2010 at 10:14am
Wow that is honorific, I wonder how many day it can go on like this before the new students find a different way to get to school.
Or does the 3month freshman drop out rate resolve this problem? (after the first three months ~10%* of the freshman drop out of school, *I don't know what the actual stats are but they are significant)
Steven Smethurst
Sep 22, 2010 at 10:17am
@publican the translink cops can't move on a full bus to check the fairs.
@LTD.Edition do a public service, next time you see a massive line like this yell out to them, informing them, before you move on to VCC station.
TransitRider
Sep 22, 2010 at 11:21am
Jax5: The Honour system is one way to let the flow of the system happen without holding people up while someone tries to find their nickels and dimes for the machine to let them through. Its wrong to assume that with turnstiles that revenues will automatically go up a particular amount. It will increase some, but the amounts will be paltry in comparison to the turnstiles themselves. And counterfeiters will gear up to provide alternatives to get around that (as they have for the current system, but few utilize them atm because its an honour system, it will be like Christmas for them when turnstiles go in).
Publican: They are requesting as people get ON the bus on the nonstandard entrance (which is the doors behind the driver) to provide visible proof that they are getting on the bus with proof of payment. If they are lined up for the front, they could be paying for a fare upon getting on the bus but for any door other than the front, its hard to argue that you are going to pay once you get on the bus. At Commercial/Broadway station its could be said that to ease flow one should buy a fare inside the station and simply let people get on the bus so that people are held up trying to find that last quarter to make the 2.50 fare holding people up behind them at the front doors at the busy point of rush hour.
Danson Pacifics
Sep 22, 2010 at 2:32pm
Considering how constantly overstuffed the 99 is already, it's depressing to think we're going to have to wait another ten years for the Skytrain to reach West towards UBC, alleviating what is arguably the system's biggest choke point.
I keep saying this
Sep 22, 2010 at 8:22pm
This problem could be solved very simply by adopting a system like in curitiba brazil.
Also, what happened to all the bus from the 98 b-line that were supposed to be reallocated to this route and the 145 going up to sfu. 15-20 minute waits if your lucky just doesn't cut it in a world class city. world class my ass, this place is still a backwater hick town
Hole in the Ground
Sep 23, 2010 at 11:09am
Also irritating: the line for the 99 goes through the station and out the Commercial Drive entrance and then snakes north up Commercial. This blocks that entrance to anyone trying to get into the station from Commercial Drive (like riders of the always packed #20), causing even MORE congestion in the station.
The security and station attendants should be doing more to direct the line-up south on Commercial so the entrance remains unobstructed.
WiseGuy
Sep 23, 2010 at 11:17am
TransLink's inability to use common sense is legendary. I have observed TransLink's lack of competence and poor decisions for years. Their management consists of people over 50 who have spend their time at TransLink trying to protect their jobs. Take the RAV line: one billion dollars and a year later the signage system at RAV stations still has not be improved, despite their promises to do so. If they can't manage this, why are they being allowed to plan an entire transit system?!