In one of the last articles, I read a piece by Copy Editor Kat Marusiak and Features Editor Darien Johnson on transit and I have a response. While I agree with the assessment of the buses being too filled and stuffy “… absolute old trash melting on a sidewalk on a hot summer day”, I disagree with a few things, starting with her obviously hyperbolic statement that “I’m 100 per cent certain there’s going to be a death by suffocation on the 7:45 a.m. bus to UFV”. Yes, the bus is stuffy but it’s not unbearable. I’ve been on buses in Seattle, Vancouver, you know, the big cities, where the were literally to capacity, it’s like you can’t move- ok, you CAN’T move. I’ve been on skytrains in Vancouver that were at capacity, same deal, you can’t move! Abbotsford could reduce the amount of people on board if they followed Vancouver’s plan of running a bus every 10-15 minutes that goes to UFV (or UBC in Vancouver). I even had the idea of the #1 bus having a sub-route, called the #1A which goes to UFV from Seven Oaks and back only. But as for it being overcrowded to the point of overheating, that’s a major exaggeration in my eyes. Secondly, as for buses not running on time, I wholeheartedly disagree. Since the routes changed, I have never seen one day where the #1 UFV bus is late, and I’m at school 3-5 days a week. In fact it’s consistently 10-15 mins early. That’s not an exaggeration. The #12 is usually on time, as per usual, nothing new.
It’s true that when the snowy flakes begin to dance on the ground and begin to harden to full-blown sheets of ice that the transit will most likely be later than usual, but I’ve found that schools and other public institutions understand that and don’t mind too much, if at all. We’re Canadians after all, we help and understand one another. In my life, I try not to stress about anything. I’m basically a hippie except I don’t smoke pot. So even when the buses are late, it’s ok to ignore it and move on. If you’re late for a meeting or class or work, who cares, get a car or take a taxi. If there’s a situation in your life, no matter how big or small, and you have no control over it, just say “fuck it”. I take the bus and I accept the risk that it could be late or not even show up. It sucks. But that’s life. Nobody’s perfect.
