What Grinds Our Gears: Winter commutes to Burnaby Mountain

Just cancel classes this time around!

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Illustration of someone standing knee deep in snow with a disgruntled expression on their face. They have long black textured hair and are bundled in winter layers.
ILLUSTRATION: Abigail Streifel / The Peak

By: Yulissa Huamani, SFU student

Imagine waking up to a perfect snowy morning in the Lower Mainland. The temperature is cold, but the view outside your window looks stunning. You struggle to get up, but then you realize your university is on top of a mountain — and all of a sudden you’re wide awake. Time to grab a thick jacket, a banana, and run outside to catch the bus to campus. 

It doesn’t matter how early you arrive at the bus stop — if there’s a long line, consider yourself dead, cooked, deceased or roasted, you name it!

The buses just keep getting cancelled, and when your hopes finally rise, surprise! The next bus just got cancelled or is extremely delayed. And even if your bus somehow arrives on time, there’s no way on earth that everyone will fit in it. The struggle isn’t any easier for those taking afternoon and evening classes. The sky is dark at 4:00 p.m., and what if it snows while you’re in class? I recall my experience when the transit person told us he hadn’t seen a bus for two hours. I’m still trying to recover financially from the Uber that accepted our shared ride.

As we head into November, I’m reminded that there’s nothing I dread more than commuting to campus when classes should’ve been cancelled. Universities should rely on the power of the internet more often — and especially during winter semesters.

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