More people warming up to public transit: urban planner
Posted April 4, 2012 8:17 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
METRO VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – For decades, cities like New York and London have relied on public transit to get people — both rich and poor — where they need to go. Now, it seems Metro Vancouver is catching up with other metropolitan centres.
Attitudes are changing and people no longer think public transit is only for low income-earners, according to Urban Planner Michael Geller.
With traffic congestion among the negative effects of urban sprawl, Geller says more people are taking transit because it’s convenient.
“Just look at how different our attitudes to public transit are today [compared to] 20 years ago. Many people are using transit today who wouldn’t have dreamt of using it because they thought it was for poor people,” explains Geller.
As transit becomes more accessible and the commute by car becomes longer, he thinks people will ditch their cars and take the bus or SkyTrain to save time.
“It’s becoming much more acceptable; I think that trend is going to continue. Look how many people are now starting to spend 40 or 60 minutes — or indeed, sometimes more than hour — each way on their commute,” he points out.
Geller adds public transit is one of two ways to get people out of their cars. The other alternative is to get people to live closer to where they work.
