By: Meera Eragoda, Staff Writer
It seems from most places in Vancouver it’s possible to catch a direct bus to UBC. The same cannot be said about SFU, and that must be because all of TransLink’s executives graduated from UBC. How else do you explain UBC’s current 15 bus routes to SFU’s four? You can’t tell me there’s no bias in service.
I understand this may be a niche concern, but there are at least a few East Vancouver folk who aren’t in the Renfrew-Hastings area who should be able to relate. To get to SFU, I currently take the 22, then the SkyTrain — and then depending on timing — get off at the appropriate station for the 143, 144, or the 145. Meanwhile, my roommate has the option of taking either the 25 or the 33 directly to UBC from our place. Only one of us has to take three different modes of transportation to get to class. Spoiler: it’s me.
Look, I understand we’re a commuter campus, so some bus hopping is always going to be expected. We’re also smaller than UBC. But given that UBC is getting a whole SkyTrain extension to themselves, shouldn’t it be time for TransLink to do more than just throw us an R5-shaped bone in hopes that we wouldn’t notice that it’s the exact same bus as the 95? Sure, the service is a little more frequent, but how exactly does this increase the service area going to SFU?
If SFU has approximately 60% of the student body that UBC does, shouldn’t we at least have 60% of the number of bus routes they do? (That would be nine for anyone wondering about the math.)
