Monday, October 20, 2008

Drink Before and After taking Transit – Not During

As I ride the SkyTrain and bus system, I get to see people breaking the law pretty much everyday. One thing that particularly bugs me is drinking alcohol on the bus: construction workers cracking open a cold one, to college girls drinking coolers, and of course the usual suspects. I don’t know why people think it's OK to drink alcohol on transit, I mean technical you’re not even suppose to drink juice on transit. Drinking alcohol in public is illegal. I guess people drink on transit because they a.) don’t respect the transit system, and b.) don’t respect the people around them. (I was once by someone that was spilling beer all over the place.) So, how do we solve this problem?

I don’t know the answer to that question, but I think that enforcement might play a part. Maybe more Transit Police on the SkyTrain would send a signal that Translink is watching. While the bus operator’s job is to mind the road as a first priority, maybe there could be some way for them to call a Transit Officer when they see someone breaking the law. Finally, maybe an education campaign of some sort might help. Peer pressure might also do the trick. These are all suggestions and I don’t know how successful they would be, but I know one thing: something has to be done. What do you think?

1 comment:

Briana Tomkinson said...

I'm not fussed by it so long as they don't spill and aren't a nuisance to other passengers. I think having more Transit Officers around would improve passenger behaviour in general.