Bomber transit adventure: no one got left behind

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/06/2013 (4454 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For those of you following my Bomber game-day transit deliberations – all two of you – here is the final report.

Went at 5:30 sharp to the Osborne Street rapid transit station to take the 161 Super Express to stadium. The 161 did not materialize, for reasons not entirely understood by the two dozen Bomber fans waiting with us at the platform. At least one 161 did appear northbound from the U of M campus, leading some to speculate the root STARTED at the U of M. If that’s so, that’s dumb given the need to move people south.

Waited 25 mins and finally caught a 162 to the stadium. There were a ton of buses moving southbound on Pembina Highway. So many that we were able to leap frog several and didn’t have to make every stop. It was a semi-express and got us into the stadium in 25 minutes.

Total time needed to get to the game – 50 mins. Not bad.

Left the game the moment the Bombers turned the ball over on downs in the last gasp of the fourth quarter. Our seats were in the south end of the stadium – right where all the buses were parked for the return trip north. On the way home, hopped on a 160 and was back to Osborne Station in just 21 minutes. Very impressive given that the buses met Pembina Highway at Chancellor Blvd. and had to travel all the way back up past University Crescent. 

Transit works fine now that they have more buses and dedicated lanes near the campus. However, we did leave two hours before opening ceremonies. If we wanted to arrive closer to game time, I’m not sure how the experience would have unfolded. 

The bottom line: transit worked pretty darn good last night. But not even a flood of additional buses and cops to direct traffic could help the team on the field.