Riding the bus just got better; Telus has launched a pilot project to give Vancouver public transit users free WiFi. The program launched today and is available on three bus routes, one of which is pertinent for Kits residents.
Vancouver Buses with Free WiFi
One bus along the following routes will offer free WiFi:
- 99 B-Line – Commercial-Broadway Station to UBC
- 351 – White Rock to Bridgeport Station in Richmond
- 555 – Carvolth Exchange in Langley to Braid Station in New Westminster
Buses that have free WiFi are hard to miss. They are covered in Telus signage. You do not have to be a Telus customer to surf for free.
Did you ride the WiFi bus? How was the signal? Should all public transit have free WiFi?
Last modified: August 12, 2014
This is good news, and the idea of piloting it on the longer runs, where riders have substantial enough travel time to profit from connectivity, seems like wisdom. (In King County, it’s only the “Rapid Ride” commuter pseudo-BRT lines that are WiFi equipped.) One of the reasons it’s good news is that it gives riders yet another way that riding transit beats driving. It’s an interesting business move on the part of Telus – it seems like they run the risk that some of their own customers may decide they don’t need a data plan after all, because transit is one of the key places that users haven’t been able to get data. Between Shaw’s pervasive open WiFi and this development – if it becomes pervasive – it’s not ridiculous for somebody like a UBC student to consider going data-plan-free. This will also be handy for international visitors, though it’s not clear how many of them are on the commuter routes.