By: Giselle General

This is part of an ongoing series of posts discussion issues I personally encounter while taking public transit in Edmonton. Links to other posts will be added on an ongoing basis:

What is a Captive Transit User? I learned about the term for the first time from the City of Edmonton’s website. The easy definition is: someone who takes public transit because it’s the best (or only available) option for them to travel around. The part about feeling ‘captive’ comes from the restriction that sometimes comes up, perhaps because one is too poor to own and maintain a vehicle, one does not know how to drive, or for medical reasons, cannot operate a vehicle. In many ways, I relate to this a lot. Though I’m pretty fortunate to afford the occasional taxi ride, and with my husband having a car.

People unfamiliar with a transit system, whether it is because they are new to an city, a neighbourhood, or just so happened to not use transit for a specific event, benefit from the help of a fellow human who seemed to know their way around. A few times this summer, it was nice to be that fellow human, even as a stranger, to be that source of help and companionship to someone. Here’s a few stories when I by myself, or with my husband, did this to people in the city.

Edmonton Folk Festival

This summer was the first time that my husband and I went to Edmonton Folk Festival. Because we had little time between having dinner at the bar near his work by the Manchester Square, we took an rideshare to the festival location. But we decided to take the relatively-recently-opened Valley Line LRT to her back.

While walking through the green space to get to the station, someone called out to us. They seemed confused and asked where the LRT station is. My husband and I pointed to the direction that we are headed. In the spot where we were standing, it seemed easy to miss the LRT station, as the glass pyramids of the Muttart Conservatory is right close by. The people seemed relived to know that the LRT station was indeed close by, which is a great reason why the festival organizers heavily promoted transit as a way to get to and from the festival.

This is the first year that the festival is going on with the LRT access. I bet that in future years, it would be a no-brainer for most people to get to the festival through transit, either to get to the bottom or top of the hill.

New worker going to downtown

On a Thursday morning in August, I was waiting to get on my usual bus to get to downtown. A man was talking passionately over the phone, in a language I cannot understand. He hung up, browsed his phone for a few minutes and then he approached me, speaking in limited English. Asked which buses go to downtown by 109 Street, and whether the bus is arriving since it’s been late for 5 minutes. I can imagine how a late bus for a route you’ve never used before would make anyone anxious. So I told him “yes that’s the number 2, it will come soon, and we can take it together!”

The bus arrived and we hop on together. He was restlessly looking at the window to check where we are going. I placed the address of his destination on my Google maps app, and showed him the blue moving dot that symbolizes the bus. We were sitting close to the front, so I also point to him the digital screen that was showing the intersection of the upcoming bus stops. I told him, “once we are close to downtown, the screen and the audio annoucement will say.. 121 Street – Jasper Avenue, 116 Street – Jasper Avenue, 112 Street – Jasper Avenue… and then that’s when you pull the stop alert and get off. Then when you get off, you just need to walk 2 blocks that way, and you’ll be in your destination!” I finished my instructions while pointing towards the south.

He shared to me that it was his first day at his job. He shyly told me that his English is “not very good” but he will be starting classed at Norquest college very soon. I said that Norquest is very close to where he was getting off for work, so he can take the same bus and just wait for a few stops further into downtown. I shared that I am an immigrant too, only that I’ve been here for 17 years. He sounded amazed upon hearing that.

As his stop approached, I got him to pull the string for the stop request. As he left the bus, I said good bye and waved at him through the glass, while making sure I press the button again as I was getting off at the next stop. I sent a silent prayer, wishing him a good day at work as I headed out to start mine.

Lady navigating west end construction zone

One morning, I was on the bus heading to work and after a few stops, a woman wearing business clothes came in. There were several vacant seats at the front, but she didn’t sit right away. Clutching her phone tightly, she talked to the driver asking if the bus would be passing by 139 Street and 102 Avenue. He said yes, and continued to drive. She continued standing at the front craning her neck, seemingly wanting to have the same line of sight as the driver.

Only a few stops later, she asked the driver again how close we are getting to her destination. We were still on 87 Avenue, about 15 minutes away. I do know though that she is getting off on a very busy construction zone and might miss where the bus stop is.

I waited for catch her eye, I smiled and said, yes the bus is heading that way. I pointed at the digital sign above her head and said “as you can see, and you will hear, the upcoming bus stops will show on the sign. So you will hear when the next step is 139 Street and 102 Avenue and press the button then.” As we waited along the very congested 142 Street, the bus finally got a chance to turn on 102 Avenue. The bus arrived at the intersections and the got off one of the temporary-looking bus stops.

Honestly, I’m quite relived that smartphones are around. It helps communicating bus routes and travel times better. One can argue that if someone has a phone and data, people can just look at the directions and go where they need to go. But I think that the additional element of human help can provide that extra level of reassurance. Many times, I’ve seen passengers come up to the bus, show their phone to the driver and confirm, and happily enter the bus once they get the okay from the driver. But in a pinch, whether in a random location around the city, a busy transit station, or a bus stop, I enjoy pitching in when needed. It’s a fleeting moment of kindness, lasting a few minutes at most, but can help with those unfamiliar with our transit system get the hang of it.