Thanks everyone for sharing reviews for today. Fun to read. Here’s a few thoughts from my first ride with the wife and baby (& stroller).
We boarded at 102 stop. Decently busy around 3pm. Good to see! Lots of families and kids were on the train.
Getting my first ARC card went well and was simple. Tried to get a ticket for my wife, it charged us, but never dispensed a ticket haha. Security couldn’t help and wasn’t a way to get help, so we just jumped on.
(This made me think about how Vancouver has a strong transit volunteer team. I’m not sure exactly how it works, might be connected to universities or class credits somewhere. Not sure if they have incentives. But nonetheless, we need to pursue the same I think. The opening day of a line like this should see a clearly marked station volunteer/helper to answer all questions and to assist people throughout the day. A simple confusion can really sour someone’s experience, but a quick fix by a transit volunteer/staffer can turn that experience to an even more positive one than if nothing had even happened!)
ARC machines also seem to have plastic wrap on them still? What’s that about… haha. So tacky for day 1 to not be bothered to unwrap the new machines. Air bubbles and partially removed plastic made them look rougher, not new and sleek.
Train experience was great. Level boarding with stroller was simple and easy. Nice to have clear bike/wheelchair areas marked.
Windows are amazing. Ride was quite smooth.
Audio for the pre recorded stuff was good, for the live driver though, the mic sounded like it was from the 90s. Just gain-y and overblown. That was a bit disappointing.
Stations were all nice. Muttart is beautiful. The hill to and from strathearn is a game changing view. Bridge, as we all know, gorgeous too.
Views of skyline from Davies were quite cool too.
Biggest critique from experience: the doors. When they close, if you’re in the doorway, they don’t softly bounce back open. They quite aggressively squeeze you and then jerk back open as if you’re breaking it. I experienced it myself and saw a handful of others get pushed by them as well. I fear they’ll break if people push too hard on them. I think the workaround is to ensure you push the door button when entering so it stays open and doesn’t start closing. But I was really surprised how aggressively they shut. Nothing like I’d felt on skytrain, ttc, tube, etc.
Overall, I’m so bullish on the line. I’m worried it’ll be overcrowded too quickly. Can’t wait for the west line too. The valley line as a whole will be transformational in so many ways.
Now just please city/EPS/ETS, etc….keep it CLEAN, SAFE, and MAINTAINED.
already one of the 102st shelters stunk of piss.
