Publish Day - Ink Blog - Can't take the bus

I hate taking the bus. The diesel fumes always combine with the lurching motions to make me nauseous by the first turn. I do everything I can to avoid taking the bus. I ride my bike nine months out of the year – even when it rains – and I walk 4km to the office through the winter.

But I realize public transit is critical to keeping today’s cities balanced and sustainable. We’ll all choke if we exclusively drive cars to get around.

So when I found out just how many areas of London – and city of over 350,000 people – lack bus service, I was surprised and disappointed. It struck me as highly rinky-dink that we could be so behind the times.

(Click the thumbnail image to the right bring up a high-res version).

Your turn: Do you use mass transit? If so, why? If not, why not?

Commuters falling in bus service gaps

Published Wednesday, November 2, 2005

The London Free Press

For a city that has registered a 43-per-cent increase in transit use since 1997, it’s disheartening that so many of its communities still lack bus service.

Lambeth is only one of at least eight areas whose residents can’t take the bus. It is unconscionable that a city of this size has so many gaps in service.

While various levels of government argue over who’s responsible for transit funding, many London children grow up never having ridden the bus. If they hit adulthood before transit reaches their neighbourhood, it’s easy to conclude they’ll never get into the bus habit.

Although London Transit ran a test service in Lambeth in 1999, it was available only during off-peak hours and was, as a result, useless to residents.

Transit will fail unless everyone gets involved. The LTC must run a real test service that includes morning and afternoon rush hours, and residents must learn to leave their cars at home.

And anyone still living in a busless neighbourhood needs to start knocking on the LTC’s door.

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