Have you spotted the bus with the flying piglet that delivers free Wi-Fi?
With businesses and public spaces increasingly providing free Wi-Fi, TransLink and Telus have launched a pilot project offering riders free Wi-Fi on three Metro Vancouver buses. Due to the popularity of the 99 B-Line route, one bus shuttling to and from Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain station and UBC has offered free Wi-Fi since Aug. 11 and will continue doing so for six months.
Some riders like Rick Sutter, who uses his mobile device to surf the Internet 80 per cent of the time on transit, says it’s likely he was on that bus but may have missed the signs. The exterior of the buses are wrapped in a white canvas with Telus advertising, flying piglet logos and free Wi-Fi bus labels. Log-in information is available inside the bus.
It’s the first project in Western Canada to provide transit users free wireless, according to Telus spokesperson Liz Sauvé, noting access is available to everyone regardless of their service provider. She added that the project was inspired by a 2014 study by DePaul University in Chicago that concluded at least 60 per cent of transit riders use their mobile devices en route.
Jean Pai travels daily on the B-Line, and although she doesn’t use her mobile she said the service would benefit young people and tourists who need information instantly.
Jessica Li, who “can’t live without data,” says the time she spends on the 99 B-Line would add up to huge savings if the service was a permanent fixture. “Because I use it to go to school like every day for like a year… so probably it’s going to reduce some of my data.”
Passenger Adan Uribe agreed. He said free Wi-Fi on the bus means he won’t have to curb his data usage during transit to chatting and email and instead could play online games and watch movies. “It’s a pretty good idea because sometimes in the telephone, Internet is not faster as you wish to. If you are travelling for big distance you could see a movie or some stuff that you could not do with your regular Internet phone.”
TransLink did not agree to an interview but said in an email statement it has no plans to expand the number of buses with Wi-Fi. The other two bus routes in the pilot are 351 Bridgeport Station from White Rock to Richmond and the express bus 555 Braid Station/Carvolth Exchange from Surrey to New Westminster.
Since launching, news of the project has garnered mixed reviews online at Mobile Syrup, a popular Canadian tech site which covers mobile technology and first reported the story.
Some commenters at the site argue transit-based Wi-Fi is an attempt by corporate interests to monitor users’ online activities and sell ads to them based on that information.
Others said the project demonstrates how Canada is behind other countries which have Wi-Fi on buses. At least one person was alarmed at how many people were already “buried” in their phones while on the bus.
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