When I lived in Chicago, in the city, I took public transportation everywhere I could. It was awesome when I lived and worked in the city. Catch the Brown, Red or Purple Line to the Loop. In about 20 minutes, I was at the office. Same with the trip home. Loved it. And Chicago Transit is pretty decent, in terms of reach. Granted it doesn’t go far into the suburbs, places like Oak Brook, but there’s Metra, if you have a car, drive.
Now, the “L” as it is called in Chicago, is old. Some might say outdated. It still runs on rails, and has drivers or conductors. All lines are “manually operated.” There’s just something about the sound, though, that is Chicago. And who hasn’t been jostled while riding the “L”? Short, abrupt stop, or the cars lean just a little too much going around a curve. Such is Chicago public transit.
Access to public transit is a key thing for me so I was pleased that Vancouver has a public transit system. While its system is more updated than Chicago, it has automated trains, the Skytrain, as its called, it is rather deficient in reach. Getting downtown is easy, but getting to most of the outlying areas is a little challenging. And they name their lines, like the Millennium Line, Expo Line, Canada Line. In Chicago, we go by color, which makes it easy to decipher the transit maps.
Vancouver transit maps, TransLink, are a little confusing.
The Millennium Line, for example, is signified by a yellow line that runs parallel to the Expo Line, which is blue. They share a set of stops, and then the Millennium Line circles back to the start while the Expo line continues out to Surrey (I think). I didn’t realize the Millennium Line circled back until today. The Millennium Line has two entry points at a main hub, Commercial (not Commerce) and Broadway. I go down a set of stairs to catch it out to the office. Apparently, going up to the Expo Line also goes up to the Millennium Line, which, in theory, would also take me to the office but in a long, circular manner.
I might have to ride each line to the end points and see what’s what. I did that in Chicago one summer. Kind of neat. Get to see a whole part of the city you wouldn’t otherwise see.
The ride on the Skytrain is incredibly smooth. It’s all automated and reminds me a lot of the Disney World trains. There’s a total lack of a noise, almost. It’s more like a gentle hum. You can still hear yourself think.
Vancouver’s bus system is pretty decent though. The people are generally friendly, and you know what else? Passengers say “thank you” to the bus driver as they leave the bus.
Walking and public transit. My two preferences for getting around. Though you know, I’m rather curious about bicycling around here. Vancouver seems to be a rather bike friendly city. Cars actually watch out for cyclists, and there are actual bike lanes, some protected by concrete barriers. Don’t see that in Chicago.