While taking part in the opening day of bike week I couldn’t help but notice the presence of an according bus. I’m not sure exactly what they were doing to support bike week beyond showing people how to use the bike racks available on the front of their buses, but I couldn’t help but notice that they sat parked at the curb with the bus idling hour after hour.
Boo, you missed the point. —Dan on the Common
This article appears in May 27 – Jun 2, 2010.
What’s worst is that at night over in Dartmouth where I am assuming head office is they let them run all night long. I have heard a number of people complaining about this.
And there are reasons for this. Such as heating and air-conditioning, otherwise all you eco-nuts would complain as being too hot or too cold.
teaching to place on the bikerack I can see… but why should the bloody thing be running while doing so? that’s just odd…
I love the “Not in service” buses that drive all over the city for the fun of it.
o.p., did you notice if the bus was filled with people laughing their asses off at you and you chummies. no, i heard it was, and people were actually standing there too. worth the 2.50 for the laughs, thanks a bunch. see you next year.
The bus is the new Hybrid design and an event planner/organizer for bike week obviously thought it was relevent to show you how to put your bike on the bike rack….otherwise you’d be wasting more energy if the bus driver had to get off and do it for you everytime. What could a Bike and a bike rack possibly have in common???? LOL…people crack me up!
The presence of the bus might also have something to do with cyclists having free access to these buses and the ferry all week long!
wait, what? Oceanlady… what are you going on about?
are you saying anyone who has a bike with them rides free for a week?
I’m missing something… that doesn’t make sense… they hiked the price because they weren’t making enough…. and now a week of freebies?
I believe it’s what our provincial finance minister referred to as “The Price of Civilization” right before he fucked us in the ass without so much as dinner and/or a movie first.
It is a Bike Week promotion. The bus has to be one of those equipped with cycle racks and of course the ferry already has them. It is being done to encourage people to leave the car at home and cycle to and from work or on outtings. By promoting their cycle-friendliness they will increase ridership by cyclists thus reducing vehicular traffic in the process. Win-win, I guess.
um… so what’s stopping people from just walking their bike to the bus stop for free rides?
I don’t get it… oh well, I got my stupid pass already anyways.
have they got Ralph Wiggum calling the shots now???
If they walker they’re bikes to the stop, they could live that life of the idiot. But some of those people trying to get in on the ‘free ride’ scheme may actually decide to ride their bike some or all of the way to the stop. Then, lo and behold, a few of these people decide it’s nicer than they remembered and actually take it instead of their car on more and more occasions. Even if a few people did so, that’s a few less cars. Then, there’s nothing more active than an enthusiast for advertising. These one time schemers, turned biking enthusiasts will convert more to their cause…thus Human Race Wins again.
It’s all planting seeds.
Ah man…..bad grammer at the start there, eh?
If it’s Bike Week then the police should be out handling tickets to cyclists who drive on the sidewalk, and fail to stop at stop signs. Cyclists need to obey the same rules as drivers.
If there was a driver in the idling bus then it’s too bad for the anti-idling crusaders – the bus is considered his/her workplace and he/she is entitled to a comfortable environment when it comes to heat or air-conditioning. Same rules apply as if they were in an office building where your boss can’t shut off the boiler because an eco-nut saw a puff of smoke come out of the chimney.
To clarify the free bike week promotion, here’s how it goes down.
If you take your bike onto a MetroLink, MetroX, or designated bike route (56 and 72), or the ferry, it is a free ride assuming you take the bike with you. Any route other than the 56/72 is still regular fare.
All low floor buses right now have bike racks, regularily, if the bus has a bike rack and your bike fits, you can use it.