A lot of people are complaining about Sunday shopping hours in Winnipeg, but really, we don't have saturday shopping hours either, and most malls close at 6pm on Saturday. Tonight was new years eve and everything closed at six and nothing is open tomorrow. NOTHING! maybe shoppers drug mart, I dunno. But Wal Mart is supposedly 24 hours and its closed. Even if the law was changed for Sunday and holiday shopping, most stores would remain closed, in my opinion they're not open because people just don't seem to go shopping on weekends.
Completely confusing to me, though. I prefer to shop on weekends.
It sucks cause I really wanted to buy some food.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Random Thoughts
Google should implement a goddamn profanity filter. At least for blogger. They could even make it opt-in.
Somebody get those fuckers on it.
Somebody get those fuckers on it.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Winnipeg Trans*it
I love Winnipeg Transit. It is the best public transit service in the city of Winnipeg, and it services my needs marvelously.
I'll wait a minute for you to pick yourself up off the floor from your fit of hysterics. There, composed? Alright. Now obviously, no Winnipeger could read the above sentence with a straight face. Winnipeg Transit is a joke.
I have taken transit for 5 years now. Usually I take the 18 or 32 buses. Not once in those 5 years have I noticed an improvement in service to those routes. I have seen 3 or 4 rate hikes, maybe even 5. But no improvement in service. I suppose they must have added extra 32 buses during peak time, as you can only fit so many sardines in a can.
Unless you count diamond lanes on Main Street an improvement in service. I don't, because as a transit rider I don't see enough bus traffic past redwood avenue to justify it. They have put diamond lanes on Main Street. Supposedly to increase the flow of bus traffic. Bus traffic is already slow by the time it gets to Main street. The bus drivers already use main street as a way to catch up on their lost time. Of course, if we had a bus system that used feeder routes, this wouldn't be as big of a problem.
There are 3 bus routes on Main street. In order of frequency, you have the Jefferson, which goes to Garden City shopping Centre, You have the Riverbend, which goes to Riverbend, and the Leila, which runs once per hour until 8 pm. The Leila goes to Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is open 24 hours. They have not added any Leila buses since then, even though there must logically be people who want to shop at Wal-Mart who take the bus.
Now during peak hours, if you want to get to Riverbend or Leila, but stop off at the Extra Foods or Safeway on Main Street to pick something up, you're out of luck, as you can ONLY take the 32 express buses during that time. In which case you have to take the 18, get off, take another 18, get off at Jefferson, then get the 32. I mean, would it kill them to operate some 18's that don't go down Jefferson? Even one per hour? I don't do transit planning though. I don't posess a set of darts.
Now, if you want to get to Riverbend after 7PM, and you missed your bus, which, if you're transferring from another bus, you almost CERTAINLY WILL, you will wait anywhere from half an hour to an hour for the next bus. If you do this daily 5 times a week, you will miss 2 and a half hours. This you will spend waiting for the bus, often in the bitter cold. Unless my math is wrong, and It could be, I'm not a transit planner with a degree in advanced KNOWING HOW TO SCHEDULE A BUS, if you multiply this by 52 weeks in a year, you will have spent 5 days out of 365 waiting for a bus to take you home. But thats okay, Winnipeg Transit has you covered the other 360 days of the year.
But I live with this, I live in eternal optimism that the bus routes will improve, but you know what? They aren't. They won't. They never will. Why can't they replace the Riverbend and Leila buses with a feeder bus that services that area? Starts at Jefferson and Main, goes down to Riverbend, crosses the Chief Peguis bridge to pick up anyone from that side, goes back around Riverbend, heads down Leila to Wal-Mart/Garden City/Templeton and back down Leila to Jefferson? There are two points where it intersects with the Jefferson bus in this scenario, Main and Jefferson, and Garden City Shopping Centre! It would also intersect with the 11 and other buses on Henderson. You could take an 11, stop off at the bus loop by the Chief Peguis bridge there, and get to Riverbend lickety split. You could also take an 18 Jefferson and transfer as well.
Add a few more Jefferson buses, get rid of the 18 Leila and Riverbend. Maybe keep the 32 for peak times.
And I don't even work for transit. Imagine the ideas someone who does might have. Other than raising fares. And Diamond Lanes. And bus routes that never intersect without a half hour wait.
But hey, at least I have bus service, unlike some areas of the city. Maybe we'll get a shuttle bus from the airport through St James to Polo Park one day. Oh wait, that would require someone intelligent to work at Winnipeg Transit. Nevermind.
I'll wait a minute for you to pick yourself up off the floor from your fit of hysterics. There, composed? Alright. Now obviously, no Winnipeger could read the above sentence with a straight face. Winnipeg Transit is a joke.
I have taken transit for 5 years now. Usually I take the 18 or 32 buses. Not once in those 5 years have I noticed an improvement in service to those routes. I have seen 3 or 4 rate hikes, maybe even 5. But no improvement in service. I suppose they must have added extra 32 buses during peak time, as you can only fit so many sardines in a can.
Unless you count diamond lanes on Main Street an improvement in service. I don't, because as a transit rider I don't see enough bus traffic past redwood avenue to justify it. They have put diamond lanes on Main Street. Supposedly to increase the flow of bus traffic. Bus traffic is already slow by the time it gets to Main street. The bus drivers already use main street as a way to catch up on their lost time. Of course, if we had a bus system that used feeder routes, this wouldn't be as big of a problem.
There are 3 bus routes on Main street. In order of frequency, you have the Jefferson, which goes to Garden City shopping Centre, You have the Riverbend, which goes to Riverbend, and the Leila, which runs once per hour until 8 pm. The Leila goes to Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is open 24 hours. They have not added any Leila buses since then, even though there must logically be people who want to shop at Wal-Mart who take the bus.
Now during peak hours, if you want to get to Riverbend or Leila, but stop off at the Extra Foods or Safeway on Main Street to pick something up, you're out of luck, as you can ONLY take the 32 express buses during that time. In which case you have to take the 18, get off, take another 18, get off at Jefferson, then get the 32. I mean, would it kill them to operate some 18's that don't go down Jefferson? Even one per hour? I don't do transit planning though. I don't posess a set of darts.
Now, if you want to get to Riverbend after 7PM, and you missed your bus, which, if you're transferring from another bus, you almost CERTAINLY WILL, you will wait anywhere from half an hour to an hour for the next bus. If you do this daily 5 times a week, you will miss 2 and a half hours. This you will spend waiting for the bus, often in the bitter cold. Unless my math is wrong, and It could be, I'm not a transit planner with a degree in advanced KNOWING HOW TO SCHEDULE A BUS, if you multiply this by 52 weeks in a year, you will have spent 5 days out of 365 waiting for a bus to take you home. But thats okay, Winnipeg Transit has you covered the other 360 days of the year.
But I live with this, I live in eternal optimism that the bus routes will improve, but you know what? They aren't. They won't. They never will. Why can't they replace the Riverbend and Leila buses with a feeder bus that services that area? Starts at Jefferson and Main, goes down to Riverbend, crosses the Chief Peguis bridge to pick up anyone from that side, goes back around Riverbend, heads down Leila to Wal-Mart/Garden City/Templeton and back down Leila to Jefferson? There are two points where it intersects with the Jefferson bus in this scenario, Main and Jefferson, and Garden City Shopping Centre! It would also intersect with the 11 and other buses on Henderson. You could take an 11, stop off at the bus loop by the Chief Peguis bridge there, and get to Riverbend lickety split. You could also take an 18 Jefferson and transfer as well.
Horrible map for confusion purposes only..
Add a few more Jefferson buses, get rid of the 18 Leila and Riverbend. Maybe keep the 32 for peak times.
And I don't even work for transit. Imagine the ideas someone who does might have. Other than raising fares. And Diamond Lanes. And bus routes that never intersect without a half hour wait.
But hey, at least I have bus service, unlike some areas of the city. Maybe we'll get a shuttle bus from the airport through St James to Polo Park one day. Oh wait, that would require someone intelligent to work at Winnipeg Transit. Nevermind.
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