mASS TranSUCK in British Columbia.
Sunday October 10, 2004
I have now been without my car for almost a month, and upon observation and participation, I must say that public transit, especially in Vancouver and Victoria is very poor. Why does it suck? There are many reasons, but here are the main reasons are:
Frequency: Once you get outside of Vancouver or Victoria's downtown core, the frequency of buses makes the bus extremely inconvenient in comparison to using a car. A classic example of the car's dominance in the convenience area is when you forget something; using a car you can turn around and get it and quickly restart your trip. With a bus, you may have to wait for another bus back, then get what you forgot, then wait for another bus -- then before you know it you are over an hour late when in a car it would only have added a small fraction of the time to your trip.
Time: Buses are totally inconvenient when it comes to planning around one's personal time. With a car, it suits your personal schedule, with a bus you must suit your schedule for the bus. Only increasing the operating times and the frequency of buses would make up for this extremely poor feature of public transit.
Cost: In Vancouver the cost of riding a bus is $4 for 3 zones, $3 for 2 zones and $2 for 1 zone during regular operating times. For those frequently on the road, the bus can actually end up being more expensive than a car. If you include the time that you spend using buses and the resulting decreased productivity, it is almost always cheaper to actually have the car, at least if you value your time.
Coverage: The coverage of the public transit system is poor. It only covers areas that have higher ridership, so many parks and outlying areas are not reached by bus. If you are into hiking or outdoor activities, there is no way that the bus can suffice. Since buses require paid drivers this is not likely to change anytime soon.
Comfort: Buses, especially overcrowded ones, remain predestined to be uncomfortable. There is simply no way that buses can compete with the single seating comfort that vehicles provide.
Personalization: Any trip that an individual plans and makes in a car will be more personalized than any trip made by bus. There is no way to conveniently drop off a video, pick up a coffee, and run other errands on the way to work or a friend's house with a bus as they operate now. With a car this is simple. Since cars will continue to offer personalized trip, and buses will almost ultimately have to continue doing common trips, cars will maintain a superb advantage in this area.
For the reasons above, it is very unlikely that as a society we will willingly move towards a common use of mass transit. It is more likely, that we will move towards greener low occupancy vehicles that continue to offer us great convenience.