Dear Editor:
I wish to express my disgust for the apparent inability of TransLink and the City of Vancouver to maintain an open lane for buses serving the North Shore, both West and North Vancouver. This is a vital link for hundreds of people who live on the North Shore and have no other recourse, as well as hundreds needing to catch a B.C. ferry. This summer transit riders have been stranded by parades, protests, runs, accidents, would-be jumpers and just plain stupidity. The first three would require some planning and communication between the city and the affected bus services. The last three require the recognition by first responders of the need for establishing a dedicated bus service lane as soon as possible.
I need to use a wheelchair and travel on transit exclusively to reach my home. On July 15 coming home from Lions Gate Hospital, under stressful conditions, carrying temperature sensitive medical material needing refrigeration, I joined many would-be riders at Park Royal North, some of whom had already been waiting for over half an hour to get to Horseshoe Bay, in full sun. The patient Blue Bus dispatch operator did everything he could to estimate the waiting time I faced all because the city had reduced all vehicle traffic on Georgia Street to one lane to meet the needs of a power line installation. This did not happen without planning and organization. That no dedicated lane for the essential bus service had been included is ridiculous. To give all vehicle traffic to a single lane access is intolerable. Buses have schedules to keep, often connecting with B.C. Ferries, always trying to provide reliable service to their riders.
I believe that whenever traffic to Lions Gate Bridge has to be reduced, there should be a dedicated bus/taxi lane established in advance when possible and ASAP when not.
To the credit of Blue Buses, without any idea how long we would be there in the hot sun, an employee came to my rescue. Eric, the driver for that afternoon on the Caulfeild bus – which is not affected by bridge access problems – took me aboard, freely gave me the freezer packs from his lunch box to maintain the medication temperatures and got me to where I could catch the shuttle bus to Horseshoe Bay. He was immensely helpful.
Pamela Best
West Vancouver
