🚀 go-pugleaf

Martin_Williamson@mindlink.bc.ca wrote:
: petert@unixg.ubc.ca (Peter Thomas Chattaway) wrote:

: >I find UBC's alright, actually.  I can't speak for SFU, but it seems to 
: >be the case that the only bus leaving Surrey nowadays is one that goes 
: >between Scott Road Station and SFU, and it might or might not be an 
: >express.  If you want to go to New Westminster, Burnaby, Vancouver, 
: >Richmond, or anywhere else north of the Fraser, you can always use the 
: >SkyTrain -- providing it doesn't break down.
: >
: >Oops.
:
: Since Skytrain's startup in 1986 they have achieved slightly better
: than 98% on time performance.  Hard to believe because the breakdowns
: affect so many and are well publicized, but it is true.

Well, those mornings on business days when the system's broken down and a
thronging sea of people bustle about the stations *do* leave a lasting
impression on one's memory.  (And it does seem that most breakdowns happen
during the peak hours.) I also seem to remember some dreadfully
inconvenient weekend service when they had to set up a shuttle SkyTrain at
Columbia Station and everyone had to get off, wait, get on, etc.  Kind of
like what happens now with the buses at 10th & Blanca (and what's the 
purpose behind *that* set-up?).

: >What I find quite unconscionable is the way they *reduced* service on the 
: >337 Fraser Heights (which happens to go right outside my house here in 
: >Surrey).  In the mornings and afternoons, it used to travel around this 
: >neighbourhood every half-hour and go all the way to Scott Road Station.  
: >*Then* they extended the SkyTrain to King George.  "Great!" I thought.  
: >"Now the 337 won't be stuck in that traffic jam that clogs King George 
: >down that hill from Fraser Highway to the Patullo Bridge!  It can just 
: >cut through that and drop us off at Surrey Central!"  But noooooo ... 
: >Instead they cut the 337's route off at Guildford, so I have to transfer 
: >onto *another* bus --
:
: The 337 service was cut down due to lack of demand.  Most often the
: bus ran empty.  It was felt that the equipment and manpower required
: could be better utilized elsewhere.

Funny, I remember it being a fairly full bus at those hours.  (When the
bus runs empty -- i.e., *between* the morning and afternoon peak hours --
it's only bouncing between Guildford and Fraser Heights anyways.)  And
like I said, when the SkyTrain was extended, it no longer needed to drive
all the way from 104th & King George to Scott Road Station, so its route
was reasonably cut already.  Indeed, the 337 *does* follow the route I
expected it to take in the *afternoon*, leaving Surrey Central between
4:15 and 6:15, and it's usually quite full, so I see no reason why it
can't go all the way to Surrey Central in the morning too.  Especially
when waiting for the 501 at that hour is such a time-consuming pain thanks
to the traffic jams on the freeway (*and* the rain -- are they gonna build
a shelter there, or what?).

--
Peter T. Chattaway  | "The greatest thing a human soul ever does in this
Culture Editor,     | world is to SEE something, and tell what it SAW in a
The Ubyssey         | plain way. ... To see clearly is poetry, prophecy, 
petert@unixg.ubc.ca | and religion -- all in one."  --  John Ruskin