Author Archives: BonnieSainsbury

Translink’s Ask Me Campaign

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askme_001 Here’s yet another way to get around on transit during the next few weeks.

Translink has asked 20,000 Members of the Employer Pass Program to participate in their “Ask Me” campaign and so far 7,000 have responded yes.  These folks are being asked to wear red “Ask Me” buttons and to help transit riders with transit information.

They will supplement the Transit Hosts at all Skytrain and Canada Line stations. The Sky Train hosts and attendants have access to service in 150 languages through the Provincial Language Service.

The Translink Customer Information line will be manned 20 hours a day (604-953-3333). The number is displayed on most transit stops, but a good tip is to store it in your mobile phone’s directory now.  That number will provide automated “next bus” times.

If you’re a Vancouverite new to using transit or new to Vancouver, become familiar with Google Maps transit information and review the TravelSmart website before you leave home. Identify at least two routes you can use for your return trip. Going a few blocks out of your way may save you a long wait at popular stops or Skytrain stations.

Survival Guide to Free Wireless in Vancouver

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j0433164Whether you communicate with a smart phone that uses Wi-Fi or a laptop computer, the new Easter Egg Hunt is free wireless. Most hotels charge between $10 and $15 a day for wireless access. Expensive to send e-mails home saying what a great time you’re having (illustrated with photos), update your Facebook account and send a few tweets.

Vancouver has easily-accessible and free wi-fi.  Three coffee chains provide free wireless in Vancouver. Blenz and Waves chains  provide hassle-free wireless to customers. Starbucks also provides 2 hours of free wireless but you need to sign up for an account. I found their procedure overly complex and I’ve been successful only twice using the free Starbucks service. I’ve created a Google map to locate Blenz and Waves coffee shops in the lower mainland. Blenz map is here and Waves map is here. Some of the coffee shops have passwords installed, just ask the staff.

Bonnie Sainsbury a Social Media Strategist and Principal in Duet Media. She regularly uses free wireless in Blenz Coffee Shops to communicate to the world on her iPod Touch and Wind netbook.

Interactive Olympic Torch Relay Map

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torch On the 10th of February, the torch relay will arrive in the lower mainland. Take a look at the interactive map to find out when the torch will arrive in your community. On the 12th the torch will pass by my apartment. I’ll be there to cheer the torch bearer on. How about you?

Check out the map here.

Survival Guide to Transit in Vancouver – 4 Kamikaze Tips

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j0443328 Lets face it .. we’re all going to be cranky if we have to wait two hours to board a Canada Line train or stand at a bus stop as we watch the full buses pass us by. A little preparation may help you to avoid the bottlenecks or at least cut the time you spend waiting. Don’t rely on their being Transit personnel providing information.

Kamikaze strategy is going to be required for you to cope with the transit gridlock.

  • 1st Kamikaze tip

Install the Translink iPhone app. This handy utility displays what transit options are available from your location as well as the schedules at your stop.

  • 2nd Kamikaze tip

Do your research before you leave. Use Google Maps to discover all the transit options available. The Canada Line may be lightning fast, but not if you’re delayed boarding. Check the bus schedules and routes. Have at least two alternative routes. Print out the map if you’re unfamiliar with the area you’ll be travelling to.

  • 3rd Kamikaze tip

Get away from the congested area. I learned this lesson in Italy. The guide book mentioned there may be “rotating strikes” in the Italian train service. We were stranded for half a day in a crowded hot station when a train finally arrived. It wasn’t going anywhere near our destination, but we used our rail pass to get Pisa, where we were able to get a train to our destination. It was the scenic route, but we arrived only an hour later than we’d planned. If the Canada Line stop is packed, consider taking the train one or two stops in the opposite direction to a less crowded stop. City bus stops are often two or three blocks apart, walk to one or two stops up the line. Consider taking a less travelled route to your destination.

  • 4th Kamikaze tip

Arrive early, take in the sites, have a leisurely lunch near your destination and then walk. Leave later, chill and let the crowds thin.

Breathe .. it is what it is ..

Bonnie Sainsbury a Social Media Strategist and Principal in Duet Media. She uses transit and car sharing to get around town.

Survival Guide to Transit – Vancouver 2010

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bus_maps During February and March 2010, Translink has re-routed bus service in downtown Vancouver. Here’s the site to watch for changes. The routing changes accommodate the security zones and road closures.

Breathe deeply, there will be tourists, officials, locals who never take transit, locals who are used to regular bus routes and commuters. Translink is projecting up to 2 hour waits for some routes.

Once on the bus or train, it make take two to three times as long as anticipated to get to your destination. As a transit veteran, using transit in Vancouver is an exercise in patience.

Here’s an opportunity to multi-task. I load my iPod with books, newspapers and podcasts. I find my free podcasts on iTunes; my books and magazines are purchased from Audible. iTunes also has magazines and books. I prefer Audible’s selection and prices.

For .mp3 brands other than Apple, refer to your owner manual. Before I purchased another .mp3 player, I’d check the compatibility chart at the Audible site.

If you’re travelling with children, be sure to have a snack, water and something to keep them amused.

Put identification on everything .. Translink has an efficient Lost and Found. I was able to retrieve an older .mp3 player within 2 days. Canadians are mostly honest.

And don’t forget to breathe.

Bonnie Sainsbury a Social Media Strategist and Principal in Duet Media. She doesn’t own a private automobile, she used transit and car-coops to get around the city.

Survival Guide to Transportation – Vancouver winter of 2010

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j0443328 A car is your worst choice the closer you get to an Olympic event, or the Vancouver downtown core. Find out road closures from the Venue Are Road Closures site from the City of Vancouver. Most closures start on the 15th of January 2010.

Bicycling in Vancouver in the winter wouldn’t be my choice of transportation, but for those hearty souls, Getting Around Vancouver by bicycle.

Public transit is going to be the method of transportation during the first three months of 2010.  Translink operates the public transit, which includes 3 skytrain routes, buses, a ferry between North Vancouver and Vancouver. The Westcoast Express train service connects the outer suburbs with downtown Vancouver. Two private ferry companies (False Creek Ferries and Aquabus)  service the area from Kits point up to the Olympic Village.

An article in the Vancouver Sun suggests waits of 2 hours could be possible at popular skytrain stations.

Check Survival Guide to Transit in Vancouver for tips to access transit information before you leave.

Bonnie Sainsbury a Social Media Strategist and Principal in Duet Media. She doesn’t own a private automobile, she used transit and car-coops to get around the city.

Survival Guide to Transit in Vancouver

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j0443328 Vancouver is not a particularly transit friendly city. We have a car culture. All that is going to change in February and March 2010, when 45,000 athletes, officials, media and volunteers travel to and from Olympic venues. Vehicular restrictions make using transit a necessity. Add those to regular commuters, new commuters, spectators getting to and from Olympic events and regular folk just trying to get around in their regular lives.

You’ll need to be prepared; know which buses/trains to take and where to transfer. Your computer and your iPod/iPhone will be your best tools. Translink does have a pocket map showing routes in the area. My head hurts when I try to read it and I’m familiar with the city and transit routes!

I use my computer to help me get around using transit. The most powerful tool is Google Maps. Yes, Google Maps provides transit information for most cities. I prefer this service to the Translink web page and it’s a common display for almost any city your in.

On the Google Maps home page, click on the Get Directions link (top left of your screen). a and b where are you starting from and where are you going. You need to use the city name in the address.

screen_one

You can key in an exact address, the nearest intersection, the business name or the venue name. You’ll be given a list of destinations. Click on the one you want.

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The next screen shows you the next three transit combinations that will get you to your destination. At this time, there’s no transit service to the oval, but closer to February, service will be established. The approximate travel time is also displayed.

Suppose you have to be at your destination for a certain time. Click on Show Options just under the start and destination fields. You’ll see that you can specify the departure or arrival time and date of your trip. Click on Get Directions and the display will reflect that date and time. The times are quite reliable, though I would err on the conservative side during peak hours.

You can magnify the map, to show you cross streets on your trip.

To display the return trip, click on the double arrow symbol to the right of the start and destination fields. You can change the arrival and departure times for the return trip.

You can print the directions, with or without the map.

Next time, we’ll talk about the iPod/iPhone applications for transit in Vancouver.

Bonnie Sainsbury is a Social Media Strategist and Principal in Duet Media. She doesn’t own a private automobile, she used transit and car-coops to get around the city.

Collaboration

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j0439359 Wikipedia defines collaboration as “a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together in an intersection of common goals — for example, an intellectual endeavour[1] [2] that is creative in nature[3]—by sharing knowledge, learning and building consensus.”

That’s true for this blog, which is a collaboration of bloggers. The idea was hatched for some very practical reasons.

  1. Some of our clients have never blogger before and the thought of jumping off that cliff and blogging two or three times a week is daunting.
  2. We all are time challenged, and often don’t have the time to blog two or three times a week, no matter our experience or motivation.
  3. We can build our audience more quickly. We have a number of points of view, so will attract a larger audience.
  4. We can gain inspiration from someone’s blog post and start a theme for the week.
  5. Six or Seven bloggers all promoting the same blog to will attract readers more quickly.
  6. It’s a fun project!

Stay tuned for how we named the blog ..

What is Blog987?

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We’re a blog collaboration and we write about living in Vancouver.  Some of us have other blogs, but we are passionate about living on the West Coast of Canada. We won’t always agree, that’s what’s going to make this blog interesting.

A lot of things will be changing in Vancouver in the next few months. The Winter Olympics are being held here and there will be no normal for three months. The sheer number of people will increase, straining our infrastructure. Those of us who lived in Vancouver during Expo 86 know what an amazing experience it was. The world came to visit us. Our horizon was expanded.

Check back often. We have some talented original thinkers joining us in the next few weeks.