Halifax is an incredibly walkable city. This is a fact. However, sudden rain (which happens more frequently than I would like) can turn an otherwise delightful and joyous experience into something quite the opposite. Especially if you happen to be carrying articles that really shouldn’t be exposed to water. Anyway, so what’s the problem? There are buses and taxis! You don’t have to be walking around steeped in the most bountiful treasure of our earth. There are other modes of transportation!
Well, call me cheap or frugal, or just a poor, in debt student, but I just can’t justify taking a taxi! Not in this city, not even when I need to get to Bayers Lake or Dartmouth Crossing. So I opt for the bus. I’m fine with buses. I don’t have a problem with being on buses! My only issue is how I get on the bus.
In this day and age, it’s rare for many people to carry change. Freshly dispensed bills maybe, but not change. People hate change. (Both kinds). Ok, so fine, I’ll go get cash. I’ll go to the store and make change, whatever. That’s all fine and dandy in the daytime. You can even think ahead and save money by purchasing a 10-pack of bus tickets (to use for other rainy days) at the store AND even pay with plastic! But, when you’re downtown in the “financial” district, where when all the money makers go home, all the stores and shops close down (yes store owners, I understand why, my beef isn’t with you), and suddenly your simple task isn’t so simple. Unfortunately for the people still around (in my case, the summer student who is getting out of art class at 8 or 9 or even 10 PM), choices are limited as you strategize routes to shops that are maybe selling bus tickets or do cash back or to change machines, while also thinking of routes to keep you and your precious items dry.
Well, how about this? Have ticket dispensing machines by the Lower Water Bus Terminal, or Scotia Square, or Historic Properties, or wherever else they would be convenient! Just an idea… Ok, too costly to have all these one-purpose machines made up and distributed? How about just inserting the ticket packs or passes into your run-of-the-mill vending machine (maybe throw some snacks in while you’re at it, the stores are closed!) Then, place them beside ATMs or banks, so it’s not a goose chase! So I don’t have to pay at least quadruple the amount of bus fare to take a taxi home! Yes, I ended up taking the taxi.
All I’m saying is, if busing is supposed to be accessible, outlets to buy fare for the buses should be too, for everyone no matter their schedule! On a side note, yes there is an ATM and a change machine in the Ferry Terminal. But don’t get me started on ATMs! Paying money to receive money? A fee from the machine AND my bank? That’s bogus! That also costs MORE than the amount I needed in the first place. Clearly that small, little sum is critical. No, I will not throw that away! —Just A Suggestion
This article appears in Jul 21-27, 2011.
omfg
Or you could do some actual prior planning.
or go to lawtons in scotia square they are open til 10pm I believe
I don’t think that’s accurate… I’ve never seen them open that late.
while those ideas may be convenient…
I’m not sure they’re actually warranted.
buy a fucking book of tickets to keep in your wallet for when you DO need one.
Well, art classes says it all! I bet that’s why Van Gogh ripped his ear off, pissed because he forgot to pack a spare bus pass.
Since you seem to be a frequent rider of the “big white limo”, why don’t you spring for a bus pass? It may be a bit of a cost up front but if you use the bus as much as you say you do, you’ll make that cost back in no time. Advantage is that you’ll never need change or tickets and you can claim the passes on your annual tax return. Other than that, either buy a sheet of tickets and keep them on you at all times. Other than for emergencies, I don’t know why people bother with change anyway. The bus tickets are cheaper. (Like the MacPass…cheaper and you don’t have to keep change in your car). Maybe if you thought and planned half a second ahead, you wouldn’t find yourself in these quandries. Besides, how long do you suppose a ticket dispenser would last down on the waterfront before it got tagged, smashed, knocked over, jimmied, or otherwise rendered to serving no purpose other than possibly a boat anchor? Judging by the number of glass bus shelters that get trashed on a nightly basis, I wouldn’t think it would be in operation for very long, and then you’re right back to where you started, scrounging for change.
AHAHAHAHAHA “big white limo”
That’s *awesome*
I’m using that from now on.
Uh… I don’t know wtf you’re bitching about, OB and why you had to write a novel to bitch about nothing but your own lack of planning.
If you KNOW you’re carrying things that can’t get wet (I’m assuming your art supplies) and you KNOW the weather can turn on a dime (especially THIS summer), why in the world would you not carry some sort of bus fare just in case?
Glad i don’t have this problem friend. I use a thing called a bus pass. Good for a whole month, for as many trips as I want to take, to where ever I want to go. Sure, it costs me 70 bucks, but think of the green
I’m saving, and helping by not driving everywhere.
And to add that on nice days, i generally walk, if less than a mile or two. Health does not equate into this. And oh yes, I smoke like a chimney, so do not get holier than thou on my ass. Becaiuse you know what you can and should do.
You could invest in rain gear, waterproof bags to put your stuff in, bus pass, a bunch of tickets to keep on-hand.
Be proactive OP, don’t reply on something “convenient” being around when you need it.
Ehhh, I feel ya, OB. Sometimes I use my last ticket late at night and don’t get the chance to stock up again until the morning on my way to work, and SDM at the bridge NEVER has any freaking bus tickets left. OR they open late (later than my bus). It makes me mental.
OP, stick to the rain. It’s cleaner than what you’ll find on those loser mobiles.
All that babble when they could have just walked up to the nearest bar or even SGR. But no, the city has to get a special machine so that no one has to walk more than ten steps or ever plan ahead.
Criticisms aside; having a machine that dispenses tickets is a decent idea. Next Bitch; went to use bus ticket machine and crackheads had busted it for money.
If my feeble memory kicks in – I seem to recall a programme saying that the Finns have the most advanced systems when it comes to cell phones, apparently most things are linked to them and you can top up parking meters work a vending machine from one, and I do believe they mentioned a bus pass./ticket feature.
Pork Pie, I used a similar ticketing system when I lived in England and it was pants! Nothing is worse than trying to get the self-scan machine on the bus to read the barcode on your cell phone screen when there’s loads of people behind you still trying to get on. I can’t wait for tech to get better so that’s remotely useful for somebody sometime.
NYC has great debit/credit card machines where you can buy a metro pass with plastic, there are thousands of them all over that city – and of course with the metro card you dont need paper transfers, you just slide your mag stripe card on the bus or subway and you are good to go. No bullshit.
Of course like everything else, Halifax makes it as difficult as possible for everyone – drivers and passengers – and then citizens pipe up and tell you you should be thinking ahead, lol.
Imagine if we lived in a city (or a province) that lived that thought ahead.
http://www.mta.info/metrocard/mvms/index.h…
Just waiting for joe blow to pipe up and let me know this isnt nyc, lol
looks like the right card anyways… I distinctly remember because once the people use their 2 bucks up, they’d just chuck the card on the ground and get a new one when they wanted to travel again….
You think Tims cups are bad…. they were littered EVERYWHERE.
though they did auto-transfers and wouldn’t deduct money from the card if you’d swiped it less than 2 hrs ago.
Yeah the chucking of the cards kinda sucks – if they gave them even a small value (like a mac pass sort of – change 5 bucks for the card, give a small deal on fares) it would probably solve that problem.
Nice thing about the cards as they are though – they are reusable. Until that magstripe stops working (I think they have a life of 10,000 swipes) you can reload them to your hearts content at those same machines.
Ugh in ottawa you couldn’t use tickets or money on the O-train — you had to put change into the machine at the stop and buy a separate ticket just for the train. It was a huge pain in the ass, especially if the o-train was your transfer point — you ended up paying double fare in the end. No wonder Ottawa cut its expansion.
THen again, you can buy tickets in Ottawa in small quantities. A ticket was 90 cents when I was there and you needed two to get onto the bus and you could buy two at a time…. to the point where people were unsure if you could even use change on the bus or if you had to buy tickets. Of course you could, but it was $3 a trip at that point.
When I was in Toronto last month you could only buy tokens in packs of 10 for 20 bucks or pay $3/trip, but there were TTC people at all subway stations so you could buy tokens pretty easily.
Lazy.