Moreover, when I had to head downtown, I had to be very strategic about where I was going and how many events I attended in a day. Fortunately, the week that I attended Launch Party IV, VIDFEST, Convergence and Third Tuesday I also happened to be downtown, so it wasn’t all that bad. All this comes to just remind me how dependent I am now on my bus pass and on transit in general.

I fixed these issues last Thursday, and even though I am not attending lots of events, I have been feeling incredibly free. Just the mere fact that I can commute everywhere within the Metro Vancouver area without feeling trapped by the confines of my geographical area (as I was before, not having my bus pasS) has made me gain a new appreciation for the need for appropriate transit.

I rarely talk about transit or local politics or these kinds of issues as there are many other bloggers in the Metro Vancouver area who do it (of course, admittedly, I may disagree with many of these bloggers’ views, but I still think that we need them). But for example, some local bloggers who talk transit in a much better light than I do are Stephen Rees, Karen Fung and Paul Hillsdon (who by the way is running for council in Surrey).

Despite the fact that my blog is pretty personal, I think it is important for me to highlight some issues that are of relevance (at least, to my personal life!) – and one of these is the need for good transit. I have become very dependent on a good transit system, and I am pretty good at navigating it. The other day, JT and I were roaming around Vancouver and Burnaby, and I was the one giving directions. Why? Because I’ve used the system for so long and so frequently that now I know many of my routes.

I do wish that we had a better system, including (but not limited to)
- that Translink got their act together with a line that goes through 16th Avenue,
- that Cambie hadn’t been decimated the way it was,
- that the board was more transparent and accountable,
- that the rest of the Metro Vancouver was as well covered as some of the downtown areas,
- that the fares weren’t as high (I dare Metro Vancouver and Translink to offer such low fares as those offered in the Mexican transit system),
-….

Now, the question goes to YOU. What things are in your wish-list for the Metro Vancouver transit system and for Translink?

Related posts:

1. The Provincial Transit Plan and Mexico City’s case
2. Google Transit – Vancouver – link love
3. Upcoming event – Metro Vancouver Sustainability Breakfast – The Opportunities for Urban Density