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!
I would take it one step further and expand the study to those where park and rides are readily available. In places like North Surrey, South Delta, and Coquitlam Centre, I would expect transit use to increase because the facilities are there to cater to the fact that many more people in these areas own vehicles. You really do have to toss a carrot to these people.
In areas like West Vancouver, New Westminster, White Rock, Coquitlam south, I would expect that transit use rose, then fell as the hassle of taking transit far exceeded that of driving.
Here’s something I’ll relate about transit use being a hassle. I had to get back from Bridgeport Station and go to Edmonds during the afternoon rush. Many might argue that I should backtrack to Aberdeen and take the 410 22nd street station. Sure, but then I would hit congestion at the Queensborough Bridge.
Best to travel against the rush and get onto the Burrard Peninsula at a point where traffic is low for that day. Obviously, I should take the SkyTrain and get off at Marine Drive Station and transfer to the 100.
So I have to climb the stairs, fiddle with a fare machine, go one station, then go down the stairs again? Yeah. No.
There was a waiting 480 at Bridgeport that I took, that dropped me off a mere 30 feet from the 100 stop at Oak and Marine Drive.
What is the point of all this? Vehicle drivers have a mindset to use whatever method is easiest. Sure, we’ll use a complicated method to save about 20 minutes, but generally, we don’t care much for five minutes. I couldn’t be bothered with navigating Bridgeport Station and Marine Drive station when a single bus was waiting right there.
I hope my experience can be applied to future transit planning. We vehicle drivers can be a picky and unpredictable bunch. And it’s not just vehicle drivers either. Why do you think 351 passengers were up in arms when they would have to transfer at Bridgeport? A similar, but less known event happened with the opening of the Millennium line when the 151 and 152 were short turned at Lougheed Mall.