Whenever I am in a different place, I am constantly comparing it to other cities I have been to. I took the public local train once in Vancouver and these are my impressions. I am comparing it to the local MRT in Sg as I have never been in the metro in India, yet. I have traveled by local & long distance trains in India but that would not be a fair comparison.
We took the train from downtown to Vancouver airport. Here is the ticketing machine.
It is similar in most places I presume. And here is the ticket.
$4.00. Hmm slightly on the expensive side. I guess they have a pass for the locals, which must be cheaper. It is almost there in Sg.
The ticket seems simple. I am not complaining, anyway.
This open platform style is not seen here. There are barriers which are closed when the train is not in the station, to prevent anybody falling/pushed onto the tracks under the train. It was open like this 2 years ago. The train journey is noticeable by the apparent lack of many announcements/warnings/what to do/not to do. Only the train station announcements. Also, I don’t see many ads in the MRT here.
Inside the train.
What was the most surprising thing about the metro? The ticketing gates were always open! That means they rely on honesty of the people to purchase the tickets. Of course, there are ticket checks. I doubt that would happen in Asia because we have so many people. When I saw the gates open, I thought there was some malfunction or some servicing was going on.
That was a look into the local trains in Vancouver. I will add in more notes when I am there again!
Welcome to my city!
I was there in March, I didn’t know about your blog or would have dropped by to meet you 😉