of course they'll sell them.

college kids sell their u-pass things or whatever they are non stop, wtf is stopping a homeless man doing the same and making a few quick bucks.

only difference is that the homeless man/woman will probably claim they had it stolen or they were mugged and they'll just be given a new one....and probably sell it again..

You're stating your own moral position.

Your moral position is erroneous, because you'd not accept it applied to yourself.

You argue those who do not work and contribute are not deserving of compassion.

You, yourself, however, do not work and contribute (very justifiably).

You, therefore, are arguing you're among those not entitled to compassion.

And, as such should not be entitled to BCEA benefits should your current income source expire while you're still unable to work and contribute, regardless of the potential consequences.

Firstly, there's no increase in ridership; this is a continuation of a preexisting policy.

Secondly, the proportion of the ridership that is homeless is not sufficient that it would ever require increased runs.

my god...what are you a damn psychologist or something, taking everything I say and interpreting it? youd make a great lawyer

its like your worse than one of those people who look at a picture of andy warhols Campbell soup can in a museum and say "look how the light shines on that part, it signifies the brightness in the world, while that section is so dark that it represents all the bad in this world"....NO...its a damn picture. theres no in depth meaning to it.

those who are still on a god damn payroll, people who have minor set backs in life, people planning on returning to work and actually do, they pay their taxes, pay for transit, a mortgage and groceries. if I hear a story of someone whos in that situation where they hit the gutter, my response would be "sucks to hear, but oh well, its a bummer".

im saying I don't have compassion for homeless people

my position isn't wrong because I don't apply it to myself. I have a job, I pay my taxes I contribute to society. if I was some lazy guy living in my parents basement on disability or ei and refused to get a job simply for the fact that I don't have to cause im being given free money, THEN I would be applying it to myself and calling myself a lazy prick who doesn't deserve compassion.

you show me a homeless man whos willing to clean up the city he lives in and contribute in a way that no other bum does(collecting pop bottles doesn't count). ill give him the most basic form of compassion that I would give others like I said in the previous paragraph. if your bringing a homeless man who sits on a corner begging for money just to use it to shoot up, then no, I could care less if something happened to him. no compassion what so ever.

show me how I do not work/contribute to society? I pay my taxes, I volunteer as a medic wherever possible, and I donate blood when I can. got something else I can do that a dr would let me, bring it to me and i'll gladly volunteer and pull my weight. im not asking for your compassion, I don't ask for any compassion from anyone I don't know, if they have it for me, that's their choice.

im on sick leave and im in a daaaamn good union that would prevent my income source from ever expiring. if I cant do my job, its their job to accommodate me to a job I can do. I still have my job waiting for me when I return, I visit my work all the time just to say hi. I plan on returning to work the day after surgery if drs would let me

This thread have turn into nromal people VS homeless......

That is a REALLY bold statement.

There are a plethora of homeless people all with different background and different reasons for being homeless.

I dig it....I have frustrations with the DTES and the homeless population myself, but lacking compassion for the entire population of homeless people is pretty fucking irrational.

Lack compassion for murderers...lack compassion for pedophiles...lack compassion for abusers. Don't lack compassion for the mentally ill who were kicked out of Riverview when it closed...the single mother who left an abusive relationship...the teenager who ran away from an abuser.

Come on, dude....blanket statements like that just make you look naive.

Ive only read some of this thread... but Canada, as it likes to represent it self to the rest of the world, is just a facade.
Its pretty telling when the lowest of the lowest in the class structure of this country are perceived as a threat if given free access to public transportation.

Why don't you pay for there transit?

I don't care for Warhol, but I do exactly that with artwork which I do enjoy. In fact, I was at the VAG just last night. :)

Your position remains erroneous, because you're unable to demonstrate a difference in fault between a homeless person suffering from a mental illness and yourself suffering from a physical illness. Were you not so fortunate to be a union member, would your physical illness not put you in a similar position to that faced by a mentally ill homeless person?

You want Translink to operate efficiently, correct?

Not issuing and attempting to collect on tickets that are impossible to collect on is efficient operation.

When I was younger I took transit quite often but I've only had one instance, that i can remember to do this day, where BO was unbearable and yes it was from a homeless person but I never ever thought that he shouldn't be allowed on the bus

I've had experiences where the bus driver wouldn't allow the homeless on the bus or would only take them for 1 stop, and even as a child I felt this was wrong and that view has never changed

The person is already down on their luck and in some cases they have mobility issues give em a break let them hitch a ride it's public transit after all (public transit imo should be free for everyone btw)

And its not as if the homeless are always asking to take transit for free there are those who pay too (at least from my experiences those decades ago)

If Translink was really a private company not connected to the Crown corporation, tell me why they arent paying a fee for using our roads, big buses (specially ones running electricity with all the wires over the streets) and skytrains?
Obviously there is no accountability on how much people are putting into those machine slots... this company will always increase prices no matter what... it keeps people deep in the rat race and the ones not taking buses or trains, taxed through inflated gas prices.

Maybe part of your fear is that this will give some homeless a helping hand in getting a better job where one day a former, but younger bum will take your job.

WTF has any of that have to do with you helping the homeless? Do you do any volunteer work at all? whens the last time you have helped a homeless person?


I'm not afraid of losing my job I am actually hiring. If you know anyone that wants a job let me know. I can also get them a place to stay.

You asked me to pay for their transit fee... if its money you're concerned about, its better you learn how the system works before wanting the poorest to pay transit.


No I havent helped any homeless, just because you have doesnt make your position right.

So you don't care about the homeless?

Im almost homeless myself homeboy :p

And seeing these corporations further encroach the market and with governments running housing crash scams... I think Canadians are only going to work harder to live a decent life and feed on processed nutrition-less food.

Maybe yo can tell that to the homeless.


My problem is you got hard working people barley making ends meet having to pay more for transit every year but Joe crack head gets to ride for free.

No, it wouldn't. I'm currently not working because its not safe for me to use chain saws, cut off saws, jack hammers, grinders, and back hoes while working unattended in water. Epilepsy's a bitch, I love working outdoors, but I can always work an office job with epilepsy.
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Im sure none of us have experienced the mental anguish a really poor person constantly has not having a permanent shelter to always call home.
That goes with us to, if you dont pay your mortgage or even if you own a house, not paying your property tax, the system will come with police men and kick you out.

We are in a position where you can A: try to ride the welfare system, but with that goes your life expediency... and its not great at all... Im sure you meeting people like this know first hand.

Or we can B: work hard and try to scrap together a decent life in this unpredictable environment

or C: get out of this system, leaving loved ones behind, for a better government.

Unless you can re-brand, invert, or import something to make you lots of money, being your own business man, you have it made.

what about this:
every time a homelessness person steps on the bus they should take a vote from the passengers...quick show of hands if we should allow them on or not.
and I'm assuming they have all the time in the world and can get to places strictly by walking/bussing...so seabus/skytrain/canada line/westcoast express is off limits.

semi srs :pokerface:

would there be a re-vote at every stop when new passengers get on?

I wouldn't invite a homeless person into my car. I wouldn't sit down next to them in the streets. So why would I want to sit next to one on a bus or the train? Good thing I drive.

And where are they going anyways? Not like they're going to work.

On their way to jack all your shit

I feel for the phone calls you must get.

I get that this thread is a bit of a stage for a few people, but I'm being honest here...there isn't as much as a difference as you think.

I know of a few great stories of people turning to the broader "government assistance" to get through some bad times. They've managed to pull some shit together and move on in their lives.

I think its great, and for these people, I will do anything in my power to make for a good home for them if I have a unit available.

Problem is, you can never quite always tell them apart from the self-entitled fuckwad that thinks the world owes them. They smoke, they drink and god help you if your apartment that you are renting can't honestly be described as "opulent". Think they know how to clean? no. Maintain a decent home? no. Cigarette burns in your carpet, oh sweet jesus yes! I think they honestly do that the first night they move in...I give up on cigarette burns being accidental. They fucking do it just because they can.

I tried man. Had a girl move in. She was young, but I had an apartment full of people telling me they had her back.

When she moved and the damages were up around $1000, the aunt that was running the show tried to tell me that this was was the $400 security deposit was for. Do that math. Apparently in apartment world we pay 40 cents on the dollar.

Went to tenancy branch. Won.
Went to small claims...had to serve the papers. Went in person and got called several nice names.

I finally had a check in my hand for $750 the next day after I sent a process server to serve them at 6am. One year later.

These are the fuckers that ruin it for all the nice people that I'd love to help. I'm sure some of them are good...but there are just too many shit ones.

ronin - exactly.

majority of us don't take public transportation, why would we care.

but since im a complete asshole for showing no compassion towards them, and some of you guys seem to be saints....how much compassion do you have for them? are you willing to walk down a street with me, let me pick one out of a group? you can ask him to come back to your house, have a meal, clean himself up, shit shower shave the works, let him have a comfortable sleep and in the morning let him be on his way with 50$ in his pocket.

like ronin said, you wouldn't voluntarily sit down beside them on the street, and on a packed bus im sure you would be less than happy if the only seat left on the bus was beside you, and jimmy the crack head comes sitting beside you smelling of piss and alcohol while fucked outta his mind slurring at you and saying random things at you. how would you feel then? would you get up and stand near the door as if you were ready to get off? or stay there and ignore him until he leaves while his piss stained clothes rub all over your nice suit/dress/jeans? better yet, what if your on your way to an interview?? if you get up your no better than me. you may have compassion for them but not when it directly affects you.

what do you say when you show up to an interview/date/work and you have to explain to people "oh sorry, I sat beside a homeless man for half an hour on my way". highly unlikely, you'd do the same thing I would, get up and move.

Just to add...what you are really saying is you lack compassion for all those that didn't have your privileged upbringing.

Daddy wasn't a drinker? Theirs did heroin. Sucks to be them.

bus is a public space