It’s I Love Transit Week from July 12-16 — because even though there’s things we don’t like about transit, there’s much we do like! All week I’ll be sharing essays, stories, and more to celebrate transit. Come to I Love Transit Night on Thursday July 15 too – full details here!

I have two short notes to cap off I Love Transit Week from Gautam Modkar and Charles Pan!

Gautam Modkar on riding the SkyTrain

Here’s a note about the SkyTrain sent in by Gautam Modkar!

Let me take this opportunity to say thank you in I Love Transit Week!
I take SkyTrain from King George station to Waterfront station and back every day. Since the SkyTrain starts and ends at both these stations, I am lucky enough to get a seat every day. Every single day!
Never has been a day when I had to stand on the entire 3 way zone.
I am happy and at the same time proud to say “I love transit”!

Charles Pan on riding the bus

And here’s a rumination on the bus sent in by Charles Pan.

I love the bus. Clean, modern, and considerate, the bus welcomes me. On a Sunday morning, I board the bus, heading toward a church meeting. The bus driver gives a cheerful “Hello!” as I validate my concession one-zone FareSaver ticket. I sit on a vinyl-covered blue bus seat while leaning on the side of the bus. The heater lining the walls complements my warm and cozy gray cotton sweater. I’d like to think that the heater environmentally uses excess heat from the engine. Inside the bus, everything is well-designed. Everywhere I look, I am met with smooth curves, harmonious colours, and useful contraptions in a picture-perfect view. The super-wide and extra-high windows take me through a real-life textbook. As the bus heads down Burrard Bridge, I can see the epitome of Western architecture and urbanization. The Shangri-La Hotel. Waterfront residential skyscrapers. The Science World sphere. The bus leads me through the chapter on urban planning. Parks cover the city. Trees line streets. Bike lanes accompany car lanes. The bus reveals Vancouver’s history, multiculturalism, progress, and hope but also its problems. In Chinatown, people of all backgrounds come in: Chinese, Indian, African, and Latino, speaking in their own tongues. From fragile babes to experienced elders, from local business owners to Olympic volunteers, from millionaires to the homeless: everyone takes the transit, bringing with them their slice of life. As I step off at my stop, I never forget to say “Thank you!” It may be the driver’s real reward. True to its word in a transit advertisement, the bus is unquestionably “bringing you the world.”

Thanks Gautam and Charles!