General warning: never EVER put your travel plans in the hands of a certain airport-downtown shuttle service.
I was at the Public Gardens stop, sitting on a bench, under your sign, ten minutes early. And I waited half an hour. And when I called to find out where your goddam bus was, you told me it had BEEN BY ALREADY. and had WAITED FIVE MINUTES.
What a fuckin joke. I was exactly where I was told to be. I didn’t move. Either your crackhead driver arrived and left fifteen minutes early, or you fucked up yourself and sent him to the wrong place. Either way, don’t tell me I somehow failed to notice an enormous bus park in front of my nose for five minutes. Apologize. Correct the situation. Don’t tell me I’m lost, or blind.
Thank God I was just picking up a car and not catching a flight; I was able to lean on a friend for a drive, and no harm done. But I’ll never call you folks again. And I’ll be sure to spread the word far and wide. Thanks for the ride.
—Right place, right time
This article appears in May 28 – Jun 3, 2009.
Public Garden stop? There isn’t one for the Airporter bus, its across the street at the Lord Nelson’s main entrance. You sat under the sign meant for tour and charter buses dropping off/picking up groups at the Gardens.
I stand corrected, apparently the Lord Nelson stop is rsvp only nowadays and the public gardens does indeed have a sign for the Airporter. My bad.
http://www.airporter.biz/
I wonder why integrity is so hard to find on a bus?
I’m surprised this didn’t a “boring bus bitch” tag.
Fixed.
muggles hehe
What the fuck is a muggle?
you are. Muggles are us common folk with now magical abilities.
hmm..I apparently have typing turrets. *no.
And some Muggles are Fuggos, but not all Fuggos are Muggles. No Muggle is ever a Fuggle however Fuggles are often consumed by Muggles. It’s a little complicated, but I’m sure there’s a ven diagram out there somewhere.
Are you doubting my ability to do magic? “Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat”
and now for something completely different…
I always get a cab to the airport. I figured I can trust that shuttle about as much as I can trust MT. If you are traveling with another, the cab only costs a few bucks more than the shuttle, and I’ve never had a problem with them not showing up.
The location of Hfx’s airport is the problem. It’s too far away from the city core. In Ottawa and Toronto, the airports are close enough to downtown to run public/city transit there and back. In fact, it’s only a 15 minute bus ride from Ottawa’s airport to the Parliament buildings (right downtown)…and in Toronto the subway runs part way and then a bus runs the rest of the way.
It’s simply too far out to run any sort of financially viable public transit to Hfx’s airport from downtown on a regular basis (say, a metro transit link bus)…although I haven’t crunched the number so someone correct me if I’m wrong 😛
I made my boyfriend get one of those limo services…same price, not smelly, and pretty cars for the same price!
Fuck sitting with people who stink 😀
Your lesson;
Don’t rely on them.
Yeah, Pretty Kitty, I’m not sure when you last took public transit from Toronto’s airport to downtown but as a resident of TO I can tell you the bus ride from Pearson (assuming you take the TTC) is at least an hour, plus an extra fare. Then you gotta take the subway which is another 25-30 minutes to downtown.
Same goes for Montreal’s much lauded transit system. Cheap, but it takes you at least an hour from the downtown core to Trudeau. Although I do like the idea that there are dedicated cabs that travel from the airport to anywhere within a designated area for one flat price.
Oh, and OP, you really read way too much Harry Potter. You’re an adult. Read adult books.
Hey now..there is nothing wrong with Harry Potter.
Harry Potter was one helluva series for writing. You should check it out!
The STM’s 211 bus runs from the Lionel-Groulx metro station direct to the Dorval station (in 15 minutes) where you can either board the 204 and be at the airport 5 minutes later if you make the transfer in a timely manner. Or simply get off the 211, walk under the commuter rail tracks and cross over to the corner of the Econoparc lot and catch one of the free parking lot shuttle buses that operate on behalf of this airport-owned parking lot.
The idea that an airport transit service in Halifax wouldn’t work is wrong, do it like the STM does the 211 which heads to Beaconfield then reverses its routing – have it continue onto Enfield/Elmsdale, with stops at the airport in both directions to maximise passenger convenience. A stop at the Irving and at the Sobey’s and Superstore properties would service a lot of the rural residents.
But there is one issue with running to HIA and that is the airport is private property and Metro Transit can’t force a bus onto their property. HIA makes money from each ticket the Airporter sells so I’m not so sure the airport is willing to let go of that income. I’m sure a fight with the Utility and Review Board would be scheduled.
Thats awesome! I use the word Muggles with my niece as in hugs 🙂
Whoa, Bobby. K I never actually took public transit to the airport, however, i assumed it wasn’t kaytardedly long given the fact that the shuttle took like 20-30 minutes tops from the Royal York. Was gonna take the subway/TTC but my flight was at 8 on sunday and the subway doesn’t start running till like 9 on sundays.
Good to know though.
I *have* however taken the bus from downtown ottawa (rideau st) to the airport and it was like 20 minutes tops.
In any event, Pearson is closer to DT than Stanfield is to DT.
The difference between Pearson and Stanfield is that Pearson is in the middle of the city sprawl while Stanfield is practically in the woods. Comparing Halifax to TO is like comparing apples to oranges
Dr. Fever: I dunno, whenever I land in Montreal I’m sitting at a cafe downtown within 45 minutes of landing. I get off the plane, walk down to the shuttle bus(always carry-on luggage), pay 13bucks, and am on the bus within 5-10 minutes and the bus ride is 30 minutes at the most to the heart of Downtown. A far cry from Halifax’s pain in the rump.
Oh, you meant heading OUT of Montreal. I always cab it. Departure times are critical and its a good roller coaster ride.