Just a note to Hildegard R.

I find it mildly amusing that you state that the author of the blog "PelaLusa" is not possibly correct based solely on your personal experience. The story on that blog involves an anecdote from an individual. I am not sure how you could possibly state that the story is not possible as you were not there at the time. Perhaps it was a one-time affair or perhaps it is a regular event on a run you don't use. In either case your evidence is woefully inadequate to accuse someone of not possibly being correct. As an example, I have used banks all my life and I have never seen a bank robbery, would I be correct to state that a teller who claims to have been robbed is just a fabricated story teller because I was not there to witness a robbery?

Because I was interested I called my brother who used to work during the summer as a traffic counter on buses in downtown Vancouver and asked him the question. He assured me that when he did that job transit supervisors did do spot checks and transit police held special blitz days to catch cheats. He told me that they did stop the buses in places where people couldn't easily jump out (kind of how counter-attack road checks are set up where you won't see them until it is too late to turn around). It was not an everyday event and was preplanned with the police.

Edited By Siteowner
Blair | 11.18.07 - 9:14 pm | #

As a follow-up here is a press release from TransLink that might shed some light on why specified runs get special attention and explains why my brother and the author of Pelalusa have different memories than Hildegard R.

http://www.translink.bc.ca/ About...ews06140701.asp

It would appear that all buses are now "Fare Paid Zones" and since the articulated buses allow entry from the middle and rear it would make sense to have inspectors and transit police checking for fare cheats.
Blair | 11.18.07 - 10:17 pm | #

My letter to the Editor regarding Mr. Jordan Bateman's posted blog of PelaLusa on Transit and the comments made by Blair in response to my letter require some further details to my statements:

Blair is right to say a B-Line is going over Granville Bridge. It is the 98 B-Line.

However Blair should take his time to garner correct information before making comments which lack facts.
Here are the facts according to information from Translink Customer Information:

1.)The only bus to allow passengers with valid tickets or passes to enter by the middle and back entrance is the 99 B-Line UBC/Broadway Station. It is now a permanent policy for this bus only.

2.) The 99 B-Line does not cross the Granville Bridge.

3.) Any other articulated bus has to be entered from the front only.

The Blog from PelaLusa posted by Jordan Bateman states that a B-Line stopped on Granville Bridge and a fare inspector got on to check tickets.This fare inspector caught 40 fare cheats..

I leave it up to the readers to come to their own conclusions regarding the posted blog of Jordan Bateman and Blair's comments to my letter.

Hildegard R. - Coquitlam
Hildegard R. | 11.19.07 - 3:26 pm | #

Hildegard,

Let's get this straight, the TransLink press release says: "Security officers will conduct fare enforcement”. The press release does not say that this enforcement will take place only on the 99-B. Additionally, the press release makes a point to say: “all customers on TransLink buses will be required to carry a proof of payment and present it when asked in a fare inspection”. Call me a literalist but when a company announces that they will be conducting fare checks on all runs I tend to believe that they may indeed consider doing just that.

You argue that: “Any other articulated bus has to be entered from the front only”. I take it from this that what you mean to say is that those people who follow the rules are limited to entering the bus from the front only. Since there are no barriers to entry via the rear doors there is no physical barrier that would stop a fare evader (who by definition is likely to break the rules) from entering via the rear doors.

Additionally we have a person who has no obvious vested interest in bus politics (the author of the blog Pelalusa) who recounts a story from a presumably reliable witness (his mother) about experiencing this on a B-Line bus on the Granville Street Bridge...this is a run with 60' long articulated buses.

So to summarize, supporting my argument I have the following information at my disposal:

1) A press release from TransLink that says they will be carrying out this type of enforcement
2) an absence of barriers to stop scurrilous individuals from entering the rear doors of the B-Line buses
3) A former employee who says that enforcement of this type took place, and
4) A person without any evident bias who says that his mother experienced such an enforcement activity

Against my argument you have:

1) An assertion that you are only supposed to enter the bus from the front; and

2) The fact that you have never personally experienced a fare check on the 98-B line

Frankly I can't help but agree with your last line: "I leave it up to the readers to come to their own conclusions regarding the posted blog of Jordan Bateman and Blair's comments to my letter."
Blair | 11.19.07 - 8:15 pm | #