The May Buzzer is out today!
The May Buzzer is out today!
The May 2009 Buzzer is now on all buses, SeaBus, SkyTrain, and West Coast Express!
In this issue we talk about Bike to Work Week, which encourages you to try commuting by bike from May 11-15.
We’ve also got details about the The Bicycle Valet, who provides convenient bike parking at events, plus info about Access Awareness Day, BePartofthePlan.ca (and the upcoming in-person consultation events), and our new multilingual timetables!
We also have notes on Victoria Day holiday service, an important notice about the temporary closure of the Broadway Station elevator, and an item about the Buzzer’s 93rd birthday (the Buzzer may be creaking in the joints, but it’s still going strong :)
And as usual, it is our pleasure to feature a cover from another fine Canadian illustrator, Andrea Armstrong. I’m really pleased with this illustration — I love the way the colours look like watercolour paints!
As always, if you can’t get the Buzzer on the system, you can always read it in PDF form on our website. Visit our Buzzer PDF archives, which stretch back to the heady days of June 2006. (Here’s the direct link to the May issue PDF.)
Please don’t forget to enter the FareCard contest too: you can win a free FareCard in every issue of the Buzzer. Read the issue, then answer the question right by Monday, June 1 at 9 a.m. to win!
Enjoy the latest Buzzer everyone: comments are welcome below!
The Buzzer this month talks about the new multilingual format timetables. I first noticed these timetables awhile ago and think they are a great idea to set cultural expectations. When I give tours for out of towners, I see many are confused by our customs and etiquette. Questions I often get asked is when can one use the rear doors (BLine’s exceptions), who’s eligible for the courtesy seats, usage of backpacks/strollers, using the ALRT machines, the importance of moving to the back of the bus, our multi-zone fare structure (there isn’t one for evenings, weekends, and holidays), usage of bus transfers, and what/where can one consume food/drinks (eg Seabus & WCE exceptions).
On a recent trip to Honolulu, I was amazed how much they try to be multilingual on their signage. You really get the message on their courtesy seats that you don’t belong if you are able body. Coming back to Vancouver, it makes me wonder if we can do better to embrace our English-challenged visitors. If not throughout the system, perhaps we should focus on multilingual signage on the new Canada Line with airport passengers? What about updating the new Mark 2 vehicle signage non-English speaking riders before they are deployed? I also notice buses have the new “please move to the rear of the bus” computer voice. Who wants to have that repeated in French, Cantonese, Mandarin and Punjabi? Can we also get that message “this bus is a fare-paid zone” done as well? The articulated drivers like to use that button all the time, but ethnic riders have no clue what it means.
With the recent French controversy at the Richmond Oval, perhaps we should add the other languages to make it a true “Canada Line”.
I didn’t know that we could eat & drink on SeaBus. Can somebody confirm this?
I seen coffee brought onto the Seabus regularly without restrictions and has WCE creature comforts at the “Capriccio Cappuccino Bar”. The website states….
“Relax with a snack and coffee, cappuccino, latte, juice or soft drink prepared by our friendly coffee hosts”.
The 99 BLine has pizzas ocassionally sneaked on the back doors departing Commercial. I know this is not approved, but it gives mixed messages to tourists as to what’s acceptable. I wasn’t impressed another time when a father decided it was a good idea to feed a preschooler sitting next to me. Yuck.
East Side Rider, I’ve seen food & drinks on all transit vehicles. Have seen any rules about it, regarding SeaBus?
Agreed about what’s reality vs policy. At this time, I think WCE is the only one that officially sanctions consumption. I remember reading something a few decades ago that coffee was permitted on Seabus, but can’t find the details at this time. Then there’s bottle water to add to the confusion which appears to be permitted, but no fountain sodas.
Again, this came about when an out of towner asked me to clarify what’s permitted vs what’s enforced based on what she`s seen while in Vancouver. I wonder if consumption falls under a grey area, like the 2% fare evasion situation, where it`s just not enforced, but guidelines are provided.
East Side Rider:
I asked about the multilingual timetables and got an answer from subsidiary marketing, which is the department in charge of signage and such.
PS. I have indeed seen the a food & drink discussion going on in this thread — I’m just checking with a few people to make sure I have all the facts straight before I provide the info you’ve requested!
i’ve never had issues opening buzzers in the past but this month the buzzer is an .ashx file, a file my mac doesn’t seem to know how to open. would you happen to know what programs open .ashx files? thank you.
Maryl:
Add the suffix “.pdf” to the filename and it should open. This is actually a known bug with the new website — if you’re running Firefox on a Mac, it won’t convert the ashx files to PDFs automatically. Seems to work in Safari though.
Okay — the food and drink issue! Oddly enough this took a lot more research than I thought it would.
I’ve found out that we are updating our transit regulations by the September service change of this year, and those regulations no longer include rules about no drinking or eating aboard transit vehicles.
I think the conclusion is that the rules now reflect the reality that many people do eat on transit, and it’s generally permissible within reason (eg. your food isn’t so aromatic that it is disturbing to others, your drink won’t spill on you if the vehicle brakes, etc.)
But I should also emphasize that this doesn’t mean that you’re allowed to bring food or drink on transit vehicles willy-nilly. All passengers are required to comply with rules, posted signs, and the directions of staff.
There is already existing “no food/drink” signage in certain locations like the buses, and even though that might not always be enforced, it is a prohibition.
Also, our transit tariff (the TransLink bylaw outlining the rules & regulations for transit service) says that TransLink is allowed to restrict the carriage of anything that may be harmful or could cause inconvenience to others or could damage property – so, for example, while coffee in a travel mug may be OK, a cup without a lid likely is not.
In practical application, the issue of food and drink may be dealt with on a case by case basis by our operating entities. Common issues they grapple with are cleanliness of transit, spills from sudden stops, and being respectful of others. Your experience may vary since each mode of transit is quite different — for example, modes like SeaBus and SkyTrain don’t have quite as many sudden stops as a bus, so liquids might be less of an issue.
Also I did in fact inquire with the different subsidiaries and here’s what I’ve got for you:
– SeaBus does not have any restrictions on food or drink consumed on the terminals or onboard on the ferries. We ask that passengers deposit the containers in the garbage and not leave them on the seats.
– WestCoast Express has no rules or policy against consuming beverages or food onboard the train – we haven’t had any issues to speak of. (There is occasionally some group who think liquor is included in this, but that is a rare exception.)
– For CMBC, the conventional operators’ Policy and Procedures Manual states: “In consideration of customer safety and convenience, only food or beverage items that are properly wrapped or covered to prevent spillage will be permitted. If a customer fails to comply, after being politely and properly informed of the policy, contact Transit Communications for assistance.”
And I haven’t heard back from SkyTrain yet, but once I do, I’ll add their thoughts into the mix.
Thanks for the link to the transit tariff, but the fares therein are outdated.
I see, that one was from 2005: here’s the 2007 version.
PS: all our bylaws can be found here.
Also, here’s the response from SkyTrain:
We have retailers on the system that sell food and drinks. It’s difficult to enforce a no food and drink policy but our staff will remind customers about this rule when they don’t have a lid on a drink or if they leave garbage behind.
[…] fun little illustration for Translink’s newsletter, The Buzzer, hit the stands last week. I really enjoyed this project, but who wouldn’t love drawing a […]