Commute times
Posted on September 24th, 2007 in environment, health, personal, politics, rants, transportation, vancouver |
I’ve always been something of a long distance commuter. Being in French Immersion, it was up to my parents to take me to the specific school, which was about 15-20 minutes away from home. This had a weird ripple effect on my early social life as well, simply because all my classmates also lived a far distance from the school. This reduced any out-of-school hang out time with my friends, at least compared to other kids who went to a school in their catchment area.
When my Dad moved out from Surrey to Burnaby, suddenly that 20 minute travel time doubled to 40+. Course, luckily, I was still being driven around everywhere. This did mean, though, that to make it in school in time for 8:40 am, I would wake up at 7. I got around a lot of the primping time in the morning by doing that the evening before, so I could sleep in longer.
Once I got a job, it created even more scheduling confusion between whether I would be at my Mom’s in Surrey, or my Dad’s in Burnaby. Thankfully, I could walk to work, and it only took about 7 minutes.
At the beginning of this year, I started regularly going to a youth group downtown. One of the issues around this was the days, and the times, it was held on… Wednesday afternoons, and Friday nights. In any case, it was connected to SkyTrain, and, by happenstance, my Dad lives by Metrotown.
As my social life developed, and I began to hang out more and more with these new friends, outside of the youth group, scheduling conflicts arose, and commute times become even more of an issue. And being somewhere who was grown up with worsening commute times you think I’d be used to it, but it’s beginning to reach a breaking point, especially as I now rely on transit to get me around, rather than my parent’s cars.
Now, I’m hopping between Cloverdale (Surrey), Burnaby, Downtown Vancouver, East Van, North Van, Richmond, and everywhere in between. I need to get around this region. I want to do it easily, and quickly. SkyTrain is great. It’s fast and convenient. Problem is, it doesn’t go everywhere I need it to.
I can’t handle 3 hours + commute times as I try to get from one end of the region to another. When you live in Cloverdale and have to get to the Horseshoe Bay ferry - you have no idea how annoying and stressful the trip is; especially if you are carrying a large backpack.
Frankly, I am thinking about buying a car. It’s sad and disappointing that I’ve had to even think about it. I never once in the last few years though I would ever possibly have one or have a need for one, but here I am.
This personal issue is really showing me a bigger picture. Imagine all the thousands of people who are students, immigrants, seniors, poor, or green: we rely on the transit system to get us places - and to get us there quickly!
As Mike Harcourt has said, let’s fix this damned half assed rapid transit system. I don’t care if you expand SkyTrain, or if it’s LRT, or if it’s even commuter rail. I don’t want some stupid bus. Get me around this region. Put the freakin’ money into it. And get it done now. Metro Vancouverites like me cannot wait another 30 years for rail to the Valley or to the North Shore. Let’s get this f**king mess fixed. I’m sick and tired of it.
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14 Responses
Awesome post. Straight from the heart, but with some thoughtful analysis. I’m sure it may draw the ire of some folks who believe buses are the be all and end all. They aren’t. A region of our size needs rapid transit… and plenty of it– keyword: r-a-p-i-d.
Buses here, whether they be ‘express’, ‘B-lines’ or whatever have consistently failed to meet the definition of ‘rapid’. It’s not realistic to propose solutions that depend on everyone ditching their cars. People like their cars. Many people will keep their cars. And that’s coming from someone who doesn’t own one.
But with the right rapid transit systems in place, and priorities straightened out (cough, Gatew… cough), they will turn to their cars much less.
I’ve made the commute from the middle of Surrey to Horseshoe Bay and pretty well every part of the region both on transit and in a car. Quite simply, the current system does not facilitate such trips with any degree of convenience or timeliness (especially with any amount of luggage).
Your first-hand examples of commute times are revealing and important to consider. With transit fares having risen 67 per cent since 2001, these times should considered a disgrace. It’s little wonder you’re considering what you are. I have considered it too.
I echo your frustrations Paul . I don’t own a car either. Luckily, I can afford to live downtown, so most places I go are easily accessible by bike. I would suggest looking into the Car co-op but I don’t think they have that many cars out in Cloverdale. I’ve been a member for a year, and I love it. Most of the convenience of car ownership, with fewer costs and fewer hassles.
Good points made, Paul
As it turns out, I was going to write a post exactly about this issue. If I recall correctly, Gordon Price wrote a post on the limit of 40 mins for a reasonable commute. I commute from and to East Vancouver, so it’s not too bad (40-50 mins the most) but I can completely empathize with your situation.
Amen! (In a secular way, that is.)
Every time TransLink makes “improvements,” something gets worse… much worse. I’m fed up and I, too, have considered a car and continue to express a desire for a Cloverdale Carpool to my morning 395 neighbours. For 3 months, not a problem. Maybe it’s a summertime thing, I don’t know, but suddenly we’ve had two missing busses, early early early busses, and very tardy ones. Thanks for making my over-40 commute even longer. Raul, good point: mine is at least an hour and 10 minutes; you’re lucky about yours!
I can’t move closer and I can’t do the same job where I am because the industry is simply non-existent out here. I estimate a SkyTrain or similar rapid transit to Surrey and Langley beyond KG wouldn’t be up and running til at least 2012, and that’s if they got their act together.
67% fare increase? With that they’re lucky they saw a ridership increase rather than decrease but I wonder what January will bring…
Thanks, Paul. Good luck and let me know if you get a car so I can hitch a ride!
this s*cks! good luck!
I’m also car-free, so I echo your frustrations Paul. Luckily I can afford to live downtown, so that eases some of the pain. Transit from downtown Vancouver is reasonable and most destinations are in biking range for me. I joined the Co-operative Auto Network last year, which works really well for times when I do need a car (ski trips, furniture shopping, picking up friends from the airport). I’d suggest you look into it, but they don’t have any vehicles out in Cloverdale (http://www.cooperativeauto.net/car-locations/).
Hear hear. I had a massive transit clusterfuck yesterday involving the construction at Production Way, construction on Cariboo, and that 101 bus, even more unreliable than usual, which happens also to be the only transit option off my little East Burnaby island. In my case, the car made the situation worse due to lack of parking at the Skytrain station.
I am considering something a little different than you - getting my bike geared up again. I find that the combination of bike and Skytrain is handy, especially for getting rid of some of the bus trips for getting to specific locations (geography, of course, notwithstanding). That said, I am probably not even close to the level of busy-ness that you are at.
I am scared of Vancouver drivers. Hence, I am not sure I’m going to bike to work any time soon. Plus, I am not sure I want to get soaked wet (and again, risk my life while trying to negotiate intersections and streets). I am sorry, but not even in Mexico City have I ever feared my life while driving (or being driven by a friend of mine) more than in Vancouver.
i hear ya about being in french immersion and hanging out with friends or getting to school at a decent hour. that was until high school, luckily i lived 4 blocks away from there… yes i said i was ‘lucky’ to live in whalley :-P
That’s the nice thing about Vancouver’s dedicated bike routes - no cars to compete with. Well, at least a drastically reduced number. I’m so much more confident in Vancouver than I was in Toronto. That said, the last time I bike regularly in Vancouver was 2 years ago; but my boyfriend, who’s just started up in the past month, has had no complaints going to Burnaby. At least, nothing extraordinary, above and beyond the difficulty of being a minority and smaller vehicle in traffic.
I considered biking. It would allow so much freedom! But it wouldn’t save me any time given the distance I need to go, except maybe to shuttle myself from Fraser Hwy to 64 Ave. Too many issues though: storage, saftey esp. at night (coming home in the dark now and some of these buses won’t carry the bikes).
The C.A.N. car is not an option for you just yet, Paul because they require 3 years of driving experience, so I’m S.O.L. too!
I’m pretty sure all of the buses have been upgraded now to carry bikes at night.
As for biking in Vancouver, I’ve had a few close calls from dumb drivers (mostly ones who use marked bike lanes as passing lanes), but for the most part bike lanes make cycling a lot safer.
Paul,
I like the new view and feel of your blog. Much neater :)
Once again, Translink has proven itself inadequate in serving communities of over 150,000 (how a half hour car ride translates to 1hr 45 minutes, choosing to take transit):
http://keefer.typepad.com/keefer/2007/10/translink-again.html
Yes, and nice new look to the blog, Paul.