Q: I need the answer ASAP i'm doing vancouver for a geography project and need to know why vancouverites use the form of transport they do.
A: I can only speak from the POV of someone who lives in the 'burbs. Public transit is wonderful if you live on one of the direct routes or in the down-town core. But, if you live in (for instance) Surrey or further, then you are looking at a lot of waits at bus loops, transfers, and ultimately very long trip times that continue to get more and more expensive. The people and the civic government within Surrey has been lobbying the Metro Vancouver henchmen who control the public transportation to no avail. We are contantly told that we will only get improved bus servcie when the ridership goes up. It's a bit of a viscious circle. No one wants to take the bus when it takes an hour + one way to get to work, and yet it won't be improved until more people take this sub-standard bus service. More people are riding their bikes, but unfortunately the Lower Mainland has many large bridges and a tunnel that aren't necessarily bike-friendly. Thankfully the forementioned henchmen got smart and have added bike racks to the front of many buses and began allowing bikes on the Skytrain. Bike lanes are being added to most major roads. But most people still rely on their cars. They rely on the cars not only because of the lack of decent transit outside of the Vancouver/Burnaby core, but also because as housing becomes less and less affordable closer to town, more people are having to move further and further afield in order to afford a home. It is not uncommon for people to spend an hour an a half one way to commute from Abbotsford to the Vancouver centre. That's why the trans-Canada highway is a nightmare and the government is planning on twinning the Port-Mann Bridge. There are several incentives that are aiding the traffic including HOV lanes and Van-pools. I personally believe that until the various levels of governments accept that mass transit is NOT working well for people commutting from outside of Vancouver-Burnaby, and that the governments accept that due to the lack of affordable housing closer to the major employment centres that more and more people are living further from work and that so many people have work schedules outside of the 9-5 time slot, that cars are going to remain the transportation of choice. IMO we need more trains like the west coast express moving people into the down-town core (perhaps going through a southern route), HOV lanes that extend all the way to Abbotsford and expanded vanpool programs. Whew... my simple answer turned into a soapbox.. sorry about that. good luck on your probject!!