so just to play devils advocate, would everyone in here be happy IF translink was gone and no public transportation were in place until another company comes in?

people complain and complain, but they won't appreciate it until its gone.

On a snowy day in 2008 I was waiting for the bus at commercial drive. The busses couldn't make it up the victoria drive hill. Had to walk from there all the way to knight and 49th in snow up to my ankles .. Sucked big time.
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i hate you translink!

been late for school + work so many times because of you + track jumpers.

no kidding
at my old place I had to pretty much walk 10 blocks everyday just to get to the bus stop to go to SFU....

The hell, bus fare costs $2.50 now. What the hell happened to $0.75 bus fare. Getting raped up in the ass by Translink. I guess I haven't taken the bus for a very long time.

buy a car!

You guys are a bunch of whiners. So many people hate the bus and skytrain, yet depend on it. It's like the same people hating on the police.

It's not the walking, it is missing the 1st day of school. Even though orientation day is not "important", there is still tons of info for freshman who needs this shit.

There's a difference.

People that rely on the bus should not "whine" or "bitch" about Translink service.

However, if you've worked hard to afford your own car/own method of transportation such that you don't have to deal with Translink and it's bullshit, then you should be free to whine and bitch all you want.

I haven't taken skytrain/bus for many years because I've had enough of it.

Well, bus I stopped taking because they stopped it ever since Canada Line skytrain went up. Even when it was running it was pretty much a lottery's chance of getting on before the last bus at 9am in the morning because it was so jam packed. Then I'll have to walk 15min to another bus stop to catch that bus or go back home grab my car and drive it to work. Eventually I gave up and just drove.

The Skytrain I stopped taking because from my previous years of exp when I used to live close to skytrain (expo line) I just remember that thing shutting down or running ultra slow all the time due to 'medical emergency' or other issues like the 1cm of snow we get or mechanical failure.

There was this one night I was taking skytrain (expo) home after work back in 1999 or 2000 and as the skytrain was arriving at the entrance of the Broadway station it felt like the skytrain hopped off of the tracks all of a sudden and everybody flew off their seats. It felt like driving over a speedbump at 50km/h. I was sitting in the forward section of the train in the first car. At the moment I thought it was derailed and the train would tip and fall into the alley behind Mcd's. It fell back onto the track and screeched to a stop. Doors stayed shut for a long time and then transit pollice came and escorted everybody out.
I think there was someone under there because no one was allowed to walk to the front of the train. Then the following day it happened again where the skytrain stopped because somebody got run over again on the tracks, but i wasnt on the train this time, I only heard from my friend.

the thing i hate sometimes about translink is if i'm running for the bus and just about get in front of the door, the bus driver will still leave sometimes. that pisses me off especially if the buses run every 30 minutes

There are many ways to improve the transit system, true. However the riders don't always help either.

I drive the bus and the problem I find is that the public lack proper etiquette and common sense. Lets be honest, most people in vancouver are lazy. I have seen people who fear of the idea of walking across the street.

For example if you take the bus going east on 41st, when you arrive at Victoria there is a stop at both sides. Why does there need to be a stop at both sides? I let everyone off on the near side and I see that there is no one at the next stop across victoria. As soon as I have the green light and start moving someone rings the damn bell. I stop again for one person to get off. Now I have to wait for the person to figure out how to use the back doors. Next I sometimes would hear the person scream, driver open the door! I see them always slapping the door or pushing really hard on them or placing their hand on the door too soon. By the time they figure it out and I get the bus going again about traffic has begun moving again and I have to merge onto traffic again. Do this for about 8hrs a day and it does become a pisser. It is slow and tedious process operating the back doors on the new buses.

I'm gonna point out some things that annoy me while I am at work, see if any of these things sound familiar.

- Not having the fare ready. As soon as they come on they start rummaging through their bag or start to count change all the while people are waiting outside in the rain or snow.

- Not moving toward the back of the bus. This is a problem. There is room in the back, but no one moves. The bus is so long the driver cannot possibly see how much room there is. I stand out of my seat to check and then ask everyone to move back. Of course there is one fool who is standing in the middle with their Ipod on full blast and cannot care what else is happening to the world around him.

- People who think its cute to let their children put their fare in fare box. Kids who can actually see where they are inserting the fare are fine. While other kids are trying to guess where to put the fare, I am blocking 1 lane of traffic while a large group of people who just got off another bus want to come on are now waiting in the rain.

- people who wait at the bus stop to ask for directions. Yes there are people who do not want to take the bus, but wait at the stop for a bus to come and ask for directions. So I pull the bus into the stop for nothing.

- people who want the first bus. Yes, even when my bus is full people still force their way on even though there is another bus you can see is behind me with seats available. Some how they think I would be faster because I'm the first one.

- Those who complain that they have been waiting. I understand you have been waiting, but I am not at fault. Sometimes the bus in front is broken down and I manage to stay on time and I still get an earful.

- people who ask me what time a bus on a different route is coming. I am not a schedule. I do not have the entire systems schedule memorized. Sometimes the schedule is posted on the pole at the stop, have a look at it.

- people who want directions and stick a map in front of my face while I am driving. Are you crazy?

These are only some of the examples, I'll tell everyone some more some other time.

Awesome!

:thumbsup:

Glad to know that dealing with the public always has its fair share of stupid people.

We bitch about Translink, and its cost and some of the stupid decisions made on its behalf, but think for a second about the stupid fucks the drivers need to deal with.

I feel for you man, I can only imagine what your customers do to you on a daily basis. Think about how many cracked out wackos take the bus.

nataku - given your experience as a transit employee, how would you improve the system?

Well, first I would stop spending money I don't have and start spending the money I do have wisely. The bus is the most underfunded sub company of the Translink family. They should pay for existing projects before commiting to new ones. The company is millions or billions of dollars in the shit yet they still want to build the evergreen line. When they are short on money what do they look at first? Raising property taxes or fuel taxes. You know what I think? If they want to build the evergreen line through taxes, they should raise the property taxes of that municipality. I for one would not travel that far on the train often. If you take it often you should be the one to pay a higher price for it because you wanted it. The canada line is a joke. We transit employees and our families were the first to ride it on the soft run. We asked them why the stations are so small and why are there only two cars per train. They told us that was what they thought was enough capacity. We all started laughing at them said this was not going to work. I told them to think about it logically. You get rid of the 98 b-line which is already packed during the morning and afternoon rush. So people downtown have to ride the train with people on the major streets along cambie? They said It would be ok. It ended up being crap during and after the olympics. The one thing that would make the most change for the better is to stop allowing people who do not take transit to to run things and start listening to those who ride and operate the system to start making some suggestions.

I also believe a way to improve the bus service is to not put a stop every 2 blocks. If you can see the next stop, it is close enough for you to walk. I got more senarios but well leave those till later.

One of the things I would like to see, is public education on how to ride the system properly. It is sad but true. People don't know how to ride the system with courtesy to others.

An example would be talking on the phone on the bus. I can't do it while driving, why should those sitting or standing be allowed to? People do not need to be on the phone for anymore than 4min for something important. Say what you need and get off of it. Sitting next to a person squaking about how their hair looks like today is just useless and I don't want to hear it. People need to get off the goddamn phone. When did the phone become so important that the rest of the world doesn't matter. I had a passenger ask to be told when we arrived at main street. When we go there I announced it. I see this person is on the phone and I announce again main street over the P.A, Finally on more time I yelled main street! person is still on the phone. I said screw it and left. By the time I was near UBC that person on the comes and says where is main street, I said we have passed it quite a while ago.This person starts to yell and scream at me. She says she is late for a hair appointment because of me and that I should be fired for such lousy service. I felt enough is enough. I told her it was her fault as I did announce the stop 3 times and she missed it because she was on her phone. She tells me it was because she can't decide what style she wants and was getting suggestions. I told her I give less than a shit about what the call was about, she should be paying attention. She continues the yelling. I dropped her off and told her to take a bus back the other way to main street. She complained and I had a meeting with my managers. She won't be riding my bus again.

obviously shit service is better than no service. :rolleyes:

I agree..so it's poor planning on CoV/translink's part for having 2 stops at 1 intersection.

yeah this is the most annoying thing about taking the bus. I dont know if you noticed this but the back of the newer buses don't have bars running all the way to the back so that's why it seems like they cant fit as many people as the older buses. i notice these little things cause i take the bus 6 days a week.

most likely because the bus before of you was full/never came? I'd be trying to force myself on to the bus if i was already 10 min late for work. Also, what if the bus you were driving was out to say UBC instead of dunbar..of course people would want to take your bus. Oh yeah, you guys needs to adopt entrance from back doors as well for those with pre-paid passes if you want to speed things up.
yeah im sure it totally sucks. Even if you are not at fault, you are a representative of Translink so of course you are going to get the unwelcoming comments/criticism. I'm sure you signed up for your position knowing it involves customer service skills. but how else would translink recieve feedback from the riders? I seriously doubt the feedback they get from their hotline/website are taken seriously. It isn't out of this world for bus drivers to be advocates for improving the system.

majority of the stops dont have the schedule info. If it's on there..many times it's outdated. Majority of the riders dont know you can call the hotline to find the schedule info though.

I can understand that being a bus driver is a pretty stressful/tedious job. I think you guys are the ones that can totally make/break someone'sday. You can be nice and cheer someone up or give riders attitude and let them have a bad start to their long day. Regardless I think it will be more beneficial for Translink to have regular surveyors/planners figure out what needs more services/support. I think majority of the riders are unsatisfied because of the unreliable service and the increase hikes in fees when many don't see the improvements in service.

They fucking need more busses in certain streets. I always wait for certaain busses for at least 15 minutes
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Best story ever. Laughed out loud in my office at work.

Complaining to the driver does nothing. Driver does not pass on complaints. (ok maybe the odd one does but we're talking less than 1%)


- another point to consider with irregular service is city construction. This is not taken into account when the planners set the sched for a particular term. ( sched is adjusted 4 times a year) Because the construction is temporary they cannot change the sched for more frequent buses for 2 weeks and revert back to regular after. Yes there are reroutes and stop bulletins but those don't change the drive time.

- If the bus has ever left when you're running and you just get to the door, next time you're on the bus and see it happening, watch the drivers head. If the door is closing/has closed, they're looking left, to pull into traffic, not for more passengers.
If you miss the bus, you miss the bus, too bad. Do you scream and yell at the skytrain when the doors close half a step from you getting on? no.
Waiting those extra few seconds for that runner can end in a snowball effect delaying that bus minutes. (missing the light, more runners after the first etc.)


The system is light-years away from a perfect system but those who complain need to take a look at the flip side first sometimes.

@ Nataku

just putting this out there, but you should put on Revscene stickers on the side of your bus :)

all this complaining about translink boils down to one point.

you wanting better service basically means more money coming out of tax payers money. are you willing to pay?

Translink does not take anyone seriously. Including their own. Yelling at the driver doesn't do anything but make us upset. I ride the bus and drive it. I know too well
how the public feels. But just because I am late doesn't mean I want to be. It is not in my best interest to be late. If the skytrain is late you don't see people yelling that the train themselves do you? Them system is pretty much automated except the Buses, Some drivers are assholes, I don't deny this fact. Most like myself do try our best everyday. I do not pull out of the stop and cut people off in their cars. I wait for people who are running to catch me, within reason of course. If you are across the street I'm not gonna wait and delay everyone else just for you. If you forgot your pass and it is night I will help you getting home, shit happens I know. You forget your pass and you are going somewhere else other than home? bite me.

I agree, they should release a free app that shows you a system wide schedule. I have suggested it months ago. Waiting to see what happens.

Service can be more reliable but lets be honest, they work like a dog. These vehicles are on the road most of the day. I pick up my bus in the morning at 5am and It does not come back to the yard until 1am. that is a lot of stop and go driving the bus takes. The old trolleys did this for nearly 30 years before they were replaced. The new buses are so far so good. If you consider the mileage a bus puts on in its life time and the amount of times it breaks down, its pretty reliable. The skytrain is not bad either. the only things I know that would stop a train is if there is a power out, a person jump onto the track or the trains senses a problem on itself. The trains are serviced everyday to ensure reliability and safety. There is a small 2 man car that runs along the track doing maintenance while the skytrain is shut down.


So the public wants to know why there is less bus service on the weekends and the train stops running so early? Its because that is maintenance time. These things don't fix themselves!

hey nataku, do you work out of VTC? if so, do you ever bring in the bus after 4:30pm to the yard? if so i may have serviced your bus before as a farebox attendant :)