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Fun poll results: 30% of Buzzer readers changed their travel habits after the Olympics

Fun poll results: 30% of Buzzer readers changed their travel habits after the Olympics

Last week, I asked if you had changed your travel habits after the 2010 Winter Olympics.

And after 134 votes—while the majority said they didn’t change a bit (70%), there were 30% said they DID change their travel habits after the Games. That’s pretty interesting because it’s in line with a recent Vancouver Board of Trade post-Olympic transportation survey!

In the comments, lots of people said they didn’t change their travel behaviour because they were already travelling smart. Here’s Tim Choi:

I’m a ‘no’ since I usually don’t have access to a private vehicle and thus have to use transit before, during, and after the Olympics.

Same thing with Jean:

Well, I haven’t lived in any home with a car for past quarter century. So I walked, biked and used transit (last resort during Olympics). So patterns didn’t really change.

For those who changed their habits though, the Olympics were a great introduction to our transit system. Here’s AP:

I used [to] take a car everywhere before the Olympics, I would rarely take the Skytrain or Bus. After the Olympics, I realized how great transit was and decided to try taking it more. Now, I take it to school 2-4 times a week!

Some people, however, reported that their parents became transit converts thanks to the Olympics! Here’s Alan:

I’ve always known how convenient it is to take the bus, but my dad learned how convenient and how much cheaper/convenient it is to take the bus/SkyTrain downtown than it is to drive, find parking, and pay the overpriced parking rates.

And here’s Hilary:

Well, I think my parents have been a little more receptive to taking transit downtown or to the airport (especially to the airport; no need to pay for long-term parking that way) since then, but I was always committed to using transit and that hasn’t changed.

But some discovered a different option: teleworking. Here’s Bryn:

During the Olympics I worked from home most days.

Now post-Olympics I work at home whenever I can, only going in to the office when I have actual meetings or other tasks that actually require my physical presence there.

Had we not been given the flexibility during the Olympics to work from home I never would have discovered just how much more I can get done without the distractions off office life!

That’s fantastic!

Again, thanks to everyone for participating, and make sure to check out the original post for everyone’s comments (Cliff has an interesting one about park and rides!). I’ll have a new question next week!

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