Full late night buses lead to tense situations downtown
Posted September 15, 2012 11:06 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Long line ups and budget cuts are leading to some tense situations downtown for late night bus riders.
Over the last few weekends, overcrowding has meant dozens of people haven’t been able to get on the final NightBus, leading to a costly cab ride back to Surrey, North Van and other suburbs.
TransLink‘s Drew Snider believes the strict drinking and driving laws have meant more and more people are taking the bus.
“We do know that there are pass-ups on some of our night buses, especially the N19 and the N20. It’s one of these situations where people need to understand that there is only so much the transit system can do for them at this stage,” notes Snider.
And because of those pass-ups, there have been some tense situations at the bus stops downtown. Pairs of security guards are now in place, with one on the bus, while the other travels in a car behind.
“These security guards, it’s a matter of common sense. They go down there, they scope out the areas that really need to have line management where people are likely to get a little bit out of control.”
Snider adds the overcrowding’s not going to get any better with TransLink unable to add any extra buses thanks to the tightening budget.
