How do you feel the Public Transportation has been so far during the games?
I personally think it has not been bad considering how crazy it is. Obviously everything is going to be crowded and busy, but I think Vancouver has done a fairly good job of accommodating to all these thousands of people. There's been a lot of pressure on Vancouver, and we've brought in a ton of extra buses, sea buses, and sky trains, and there's not a lot more we could have done.
This is not what two tourists from Idaho thought. They were very unhappy with public transportation, they said this was the 4th Olympic Games they have attended, and these have been the worst ones in terms of getting around. They said people have not been good about giving them directions and telling them what bus to get on. I feel very bad for them, as they were on the sea bus from North Vancouver, and were trying to get to Burnaby to catch a bus up to Whistler for luge. It has not been a good experience for them, and by the sounds of things, today would not be getting any better for them, as they were most likely going to miss their bus.
I kind of think these people are being too hard on Vancouver, because they are also complaining about how bad the Opening Ceremonies were, and how they've had to walk more in the past week then they have in had to walk in the last year.
Do you think these people were just being hard on Vancouver, or do you agree with them that the public transportation has room for improvement?
Personally, I think Vancouver did an ok job with transportation. For example, today James and I were waiting just to get out of the Waterfront Station. There was a huge blockage because there was no separate line for people going into the Waterfront station, so there was just a big massive push. Obviously places like New York has these numbers every day, but Van doesn't. If we would have these numbers daily, we would improve our transportation. I just think the organization needs to be better. Maybe if it were like this every day i would be annoyed, but hey guys, its only for 2 weeks. Personally i like the energy and the more amount of ppl on the streets, the more excited i become. Everyone has on their team canada swag and it makes me excited to see all these canadians supporting our country and athletes
ReplyDeleteI think they improve as they go. Waterfront had a huge line the other day and volunteers directing everyone. All the tourist and us regular Vancouverites have to remember that Vancouver is the largest city to ever host a winter Olympics. No one has ever had to deal with some of the challenges we have faced. One the whole the transporation has been pretty good (and that's coming from someone who almost missed her event in Richmond yesterday because it took 3 hours! to go from North Van-Lonsdale to Richmond).
ReplyDeleteGreat topic! I also have found it quite easy to get around but I also know where I am going for the most part. I agree with Petra that the organizers are improving as they go - the true test of an organizing committee is how they handle challenges that arise that were unforeseen. The amount of people just milling about on the streets was never expected which has added to the transportation challenges to and from the suburbs, neither was this beautiful weather (I guess they go hand in hand eh?).
ReplyDeleteVancouver does seem to improve as they go. I went to the Opening Ceremony and really really enjoyed it. Being there was almost a once in a chance in a lifetime. Getting there wasn't at all bad. We went way too early, but we were able to soak up at excited atmosphere. We got driven to the SeaBus and there was almost no one there. From there we took the SkyTrain which was busy, but not too bad. From there we walked a short distance. Going through security was fast, only because we so early. Otherwise the public transportation was pretty good. If people are complaining, it might be because they are going later and getting stuck in the traffic. Next time get maps and know the route as well as possible and go early!
ReplyDelete