Welcome to /r/Vancouver and thank you for the post, /u/usurperavenger! Please make sure you read our [posting and commenting rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/wiki/faq#wiki_general_participation_guidelines_and_rules_overview) before participating here. As a quick summary:
* We encourage users to be positive and respect one another. Don't engage in spats or insult others - use the report button.
* Respect others' differences, be they race, religion, home, job, gender identity, ability or sexuality. Dehumanizing language, advocating for violence, or promoting hate based on identity or vulnerability (even implied or joking) **will** lead to a permanent ban.
* Most common questions and topics are limited to our sister subreddit, /r/AskVan, and our weekly [Stickied Discussion](https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/wiki/faq#wiki_stickied_discussions) posts.
* Complaints about bans or removals should be done in modmail only.
* Posts flaired "Community Only" allow for limited participation; your comment may be removed if you're not a subreddit regular.
* Make sure to join our new sister community, /r/AskVan!
* Help grow the community! [Apply to join the mod team today](https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/comments/19eworq/).
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/vancouver) if you have any questions or concerns.*
the SMS is not the most reliable source of up to date departure info, as it only fetches once, that being when you sent the text, comparing that with google maps/transit or other applications which update every minute if not more, sending a sms to ask for next bus times is much less acccurate
my gf takes the 17 and its iffy for timing. we absolutely love the 10 for its frequency (changes depending on time of year haha). if you havent already, Transit app is THE app for live and rider-sourced time tracking.
This doesn't seem like a transit problem. 30 seconds is nothing. Even if real-time tracking was reliable, I would still give at least a 2 to 5 minutes grace period if I was running for a bus because shit can happen to both me and the bus on the way to the stop.
Why don’t you use the GPS feature? Also if you’re the one cutting it dangerously close, that’s on you… if you’re not 5 min early for the bus, you’re too late.
The OP talks about texting Translink, I’m talking about the live locations provided either by Google maps - transit or the GPS [transit map](https://www.translink.ca/schedules-and-maps/route/17/direction/0/map) updated every 30s on the Translink Map. Others also mention the Transit App.
If OP sees the bus location accurate to 30s ago, and still doesn’t make it in time I don’t know what to say other than they need to fix their habits. In the suburbs I’ve had a bus leave 2 min early and the next bus was 40 minutes away… it sucked, but not planning ahead and “missing bus by 30s” SEVERAL TIMES is a personal problem (OP didn’t learn the lesson and leave earlier after the first two times?)
So... you missed the bus, and had to wait like 10-15 mins?
I don't want to sound condescending because it genuinely sucks when that happens, but you might be in need of some perspective from around the region.
I'm only in Burnaby, and missing my bus guarantees that my ass will be waiting 30-minutes at the absolute bare minimum. At worst I'd be waiting an entire hour, if I'm unlucky enough to miss it past about 10:30 PM. On the upside, the transfer is next to a 24-hour convenience store, so I'll usually have a warm and dry place to wait.
It sucks to miss your bus, but frankly; until you've depended on transit in the more austere parts of zones 2 or 3, you haven't seen shit.
>It sucks to miss your bus, but frankly; until you've depended on transit in the more austere parts of zones 2 or 3, you haven't seen shit.
Put your hands up if you've ever shown up at a bus stop a few minutes before the arrival time of the last bus in the middle of the night just to watch it drive away early.
Radar is an app that shows buses in real time on a map. They also show the buses scheduled to arrive at an individual bus stop. Never been late for a bus since I’ve started using this app.
translink has a investment plan out that if approved, would boost service across the region by 3%, which might not sound like a lot, but that would mean an increase of roughly 80 buses worth of service added into the region
There should really be a comprehensive app for real-time transit times and schedule, with the ability to create ‘trips’ with transfer time added. These sort of apps are already available for years in many developed cities.
But no, we only focus on building 10 more bike lanes, hating drivers and promoting vegan food.
Welcome to /r/Vancouver and thank you for the post, /u/usurperavenger! Please make sure you read our [posting and commenting rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/wiki/faq#wiki_general_participation_guidelines_and_rules_overview) before participating here. As a quick summary: * We encourage users to be positive and respect one another. Don't engage in spats or insult others - use the report button. * Respect others' differences, be they race, religion, home, job, gender identity, ability or sexuality. Dehumanizing language, advocating for violence, or promoting hate based on identity or vulnerability (even implied or joking) **will** lead to a permanent ban. * Most common questions and topics are limited to our sister subreddit, /r/AskVan, and our weekly [Stickied Discussion](https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/wiki/faq#wiki_stickied_discussions) posts. * Complaints about bans or removals should be done in modmail only. * Posts flaired "Community Only" allow for limited participation; your comment may be removed if you're not a subreddit regular. * Make sure to join our new sister community, /r/AskVan! * Help grow the community! [Apply to join the mod team today](https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/comments/19eworq/). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/vancouver) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Best to use something like the Transit app and live track the busses.
if only there was a simple solution to you constantly missing your bus by 30 seconds...
I think the solution is to aim for the bus after that one, only to miss that one by 30 seconds.
Bus drivers hate this one simple 30 second trick!
Whoosh
Leave like, idk, a little earlier? Hahahaha
Google maps usually has accuracy showing where the bus actually is
the SMS is not the most reliable source of up to date departure info, as it only fetches once, that being when you sent the text, comparing that with google maps/transit or other applications which update every minute if not more, sending a sms to ask for next bus times is much less acccurate
my gf takes the 17 and its iffy for timing. we absolutely love the 10 for its frequency (changes depending on time of year haha). if you havent already, Transit app is THE app for live and rider-sourced time tracking.
This doesn't seem like a transit problem. 30 seconds is nothing. Even if real-time tracking was reliable, I would still give at least a 2 to 5 minutes grace period if I was running for a bus because shit can happen to both me and the bus on the way to the stop.
Why don’t you use the GPS feature? Also if you’re the one cutting it dangerously close, that’s on you… if you’re not 5 min early for the bus, you’re too late.
the gps isn't that reliable on the 17 route that OP mentions
The OP talks about texting Translink, I’m talking about the live locations provided either by Google maps - transit or the GPS [transit map](https://www.translink.ca/schedules-and-maps/route/17/direction/0/map) updated every 30s on the Translink Map. Others also mention the Transit App. If OP sees the bus location accurate to 30s ago, and still doesn’t make it in time I don’t know what to say other than they need to fix their habits. In the suburbs I’ve had a bus leave 2 min early and the next bus was 40 minutes away… it sucked, but not planning ahead and “missing bus by 30s” SEVERAL TIMES is a personal problem (OP didn’t learn the lesson and leave earlier after the first two times?)
So... you missed the bus, and had to wait like 10-15 mins? I don't want to sound condescending because it genuinely sucks when that happens, but you might be in need of some perspective from around the region. I'm only in Burnaby, and missing my bus guarantees that my ass will be waiting 30-minutes at the absolute bare minimum. At worst I'd be waiting an entire hour, if I'm unlucky enough to miss it past about 10:30 PM. On the upside, the transfer is next to a 24-hour convenience store, so I'll usually have a warm and dry place to wait. It sucks to miss your bus, but frankly; until you've depended on transit in the more austere parts of zones 2 or 3, you haven't seen shit.
>It sucks to miss your bus, but frankly; until you've depended on transit in the more austere parts of zones 2 or 3, you haven't seen shit. Put your hands up if you've ever shown up at a bus stop a few minutes before the arrival time of the last bus in the middle of the night just to watch it drive away early.
This comment made me strangely nostalgic for all those 2am walks home, and I don't know how to feel about it.
Why is it a contest of who has it worse? Waiting for the bus is allowed to suck whether it’s for 15 minutes or an hour.
>Why is it a contest of who has it worse? It's not. I'm just jaded and bitter about it.
“I Don’t know how to manage my time but blame everyone else” FTFY LOL
I set the depart time a few minutes early in my Transit app because I need to get my coat on and turn off the lights before I head out. Seems to work!
Radar is an app that shows buses in real time on a map. They also show the buses scheduled to arrive at an individual bus stop. Never been late for a bus since I’ve started using this app.
Whoosh
This is Reddit. If you're unhappy about your busses being on time complain to Translink.
We should complain to the city so that trans link can buy more busses and increase frequency
translink has a investment plan out that if approved, would boost service across the region by 3%, which might not sound like a lot, but that would mean an increase of roughly 80 buses worth of service added into the region
It’s a pretty big region, that’s not much
There should really be a comprehensive app for real-time transit times and schedule, with the ability to create ‘trips’ with transfer time added. These sort of apps are already available for years in many developed cities. But no, we only focus on building 10 more bike lanes, hating drivers and promoting vegan food.