Five things I won’t miss about using TransLink

One thing I won't miss when I finally leave Vancouver:

People complaining about every single little thing including an excellent transit service which allows for people to live in reasonably affordable areas while STILL being able to endless complain about the weather in Vancouver.

I can appreciate your frustration but....

Maybe you should move again - this time to Toronto - where the transit isn't nearly as lovely. We find the majority of bus drivers here in Vancouver to be very kind, the skytrain is very clean,
and the truth is people will be jerks no matter where you are or how you get to work.

try adding something positive to the world by listing all the thing you will enjoy instead of dumping on public transit when your real problem is other people like you.

ps; consider reading some self help on anger management.if you were a dude we would all be a bit distressed at your violent rant

"wanting to bash someone over the head with my trusty umbrella"
"You know that if you don’t move out of the way, I’m going to shove you extra hard"

I guess this could be said of any mass transit system, so I'm not sure where the provider fits into this, though I personally have gripes about Translink and the way it's run (into the ground).

But, a mass transit system where it's never crowded... isn't that an oxymoron? What would a mass transit system be without, uh, masses of people? Sometimes, they get in the way, I guess... but name the system worldwide where that doesn't happen. As for smells and hygeine... well, give India, or, well, anywhere else a try. I remember riding the tram into Rome daily and that was just an armpit poutpourri.

As for line cutters... Christ, if you have ever been absolutely anywhere else in the world, you would know that Vancouver is a model of civility when it comes to lines. PEOPLE ACTUALLY BOTHER HERE. Just try lining up in fucking Beijing... or Eastern Europe... you'll learn a quick lesson in what it means to be a fucking barnyard animal. I think only Britain and Germany are comparable for line respect.

And Skytrain stoppages, well... you're just spoiled. That's about the only skytrain delay someone can not predict. Try shootings and robberies as in some US cities or, moreso, South America: imagine that tunnel leading out of Granville station as a gauntlet full of monsters that you have to run in a group, and if someone dops off to the predators, don't look back, just go, go! You've made it to work today!

All that said, I no longer ride mass transit and the absolute absence of these daiy hassles has me a lot happier as well. I think that was your point.

My personal gripe about our system is that, when you don't want to look around at people on the Canada Line, and you look out the window, you look like a fucking idiot, because you're just looking at a wall. Watch people looking out that window sometimes... who are they trying to fool?

I agree, you've focused too much on passengers. How about:

-Expensive fares
- Bus drivers letting homeless people ride the bus for free. This can be especially exciting when the person is mentally ill and/or abusing substances
- Bus drivers packing people into buses like sardines in a tin.
-Re-routed stop pattern due to construction (and not informing riders until the last moment)
-Asshole transit police who are rude to old ladies and students

the anxiety transit brings out in people. You can feel the energy build. It is not so much the transit system, it is the riders. I've had people run right into me full on to get to a door and they show little courtesy for people vacating the train. You get to Burnaby during the a.m. rush and you pretty much prepare yourself for the worst. I don't get it either because the trains run frequently, however, I suppose people run themselves behind schedule and then all hell breaks loose...sometimes it is calm and sometime it is just intense........AND the bus service outside of downtown needs to be addressed as once you transfer to the bus - it is very much like being packed into a sardine can for some routes. Overcrowding due to a lack of service where service is required. They load too many people on and then there is no room for people to get on at future stops and it is difficult for people to get off. If they are going to build out in the suburbs and they are urging people to move there then they have to keep up with the numbers who reside out there. I connect onto the 319 out of Scott Road and it is in dire need of a reboot during the evening rush hours - and they are building more condos on Scott Road so it may become even more of a problem? I overheard the driver tell someone that it was the Mayor of Surrey who denied more funding for transit on this line. In a bigger picture, I think this is a small problem compared to other societies and that is what calms my opinions down and I know I have to tolerate all the smells and poor manners that come with transit.