Meet "GO Bus"

My cousins who live in Stouffville invited me to spend the day with them and stay over till this morning.

And since the trains to Stouffville run only in the afternoon between 5 & 8pm (and from Stouffville to Union only very early in the morning), and since the Taxis are crazy expensive ($ 100 from Downtown Toronto to Stouffville) so I decided the take the bus, the GO Transit Bus.

The great thing is that the bus to Stouffville leaves from Union Station which is three minutes away from my place. So I checked the schedule of the bus on the GO Transit mobile app and I didn't need to be there except few minutes before the departure time.

I bought my ticket at the station for $9.05 and 2 minutes later the bus left to Stouffville.

A very easy ride, just couple of stops and we were in Stoufville in 55 minutes (of course going on a Sunday morning was easier with no traffic at all).

But even the way back was as smooth, and I barely felt the time passing.

Now my cousins will be seeing me more for sure. Thank you GO Bus 71.

Meet "The Streetcar"

Before moving to Toronto, I never used the Streetcars except for one touristic ride in San Francisco, and now I take the streetcar more than I take the Subway, and it’s making my life, to go around downtown, much easier..

My first ride was interesting, because I didn’t have 3 dollars change which is the fare for a trip, I only had 50 dollars so the driver was kind enough and let me stay until I reached my destination.

The Toronto streetcar system comprises eleven streetcar routes in Toronto, and is the largest such system in the Americas in terms of ridership, number of cars, and track length. The network is concentrated primarily in downtown and in proximity to the city's waterfront. Much of the streetcar route network dates back to the 19th century. Unlike newer light rail systems, most of Toronto's streetcar routes operate in the classic style on street trackage shared with car traffic, and streetcars stop on demand at frequent stops like buses.

Toronto’s streetcars are not heritage streetcars run for tourism or nostalgic purposes; they provide most of the downtown core’s surface transit service, and four of the TTC's five most heavily used surface routes are streetcar routes. Toronto’s streetcar network carries 250,000 passengers each day, more than GO Transit’s entire daily ridership.

Over the past 90 years the TTC has had four streetcar vehicle series, but the first streetcars hit the road before the TTC even existed. Horse-drawn streetcars arrived in Toronto in 1861, followed by the first electric- powered vehicle in 1892. The TTC was established in 1921 and the “Peter Witt” streetcars began driving the streets until they were retired in 1963. The familiar “PCC” or “Red Rocket” was introduced in 1938, and the last of this fleet was retired in 1995. The current fleet includes the CLRV and the ALRV – ready to retire after over 30 years of service, to introduce the made for Toronto Bombardier Flexity.

The streetcars in Toronto are another element to add life to the city, and keeping it buzzing with people and making their life a bit easier, and for me it’s another friend, where we meet almost daily, giving me the chance to go around while escaping the crazy never ending cold.

Meet "VIA Rail Canada"

I planned two trips to Ottawa and Montreal within 10 days, and decided to take the train, the Via Rail, as I heard it's a nice easy trip, where you don't need to be two hours before at the train station, no crazy security check, free wifi and an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful scenery for few hours..
So I booked my ticket couple of weeks before and was super excited of taking my first train trips in Canada.

I live very close to Union Station, so it took me five minutes to reach it more time to reach the Via Rail Terminal as I was walking in the opposite direction of most people arriving early to Downtown, it felt like moving between the crowd in a demonstration.. And once I reached the gate, I had to queue for 5 minutes before boarding the train.. And then the staff directed people each one to his compartment.. Mine was the last one, number 5.. I placed my luggage, took my seat, and the train moved few minutes after..

Even though it was snowing most of the time and was super cold outside, But inside in the compartment it was so hot, we had to ask the crew if they can do something about it..
The wifi was ok, not super fast but couldn't watch any video, but at least it helps to stay connected online..
The sandwiches and snacks , and the staff serving it was super kind..

The five hours going to Ottawa passed really quick, between reading, whatsapp chatting, Facebook checking, blog posts writing and of course contemplating the white, very white beautiful nature.

My next trip with Via Rail was to Montreal, and I'm sure there will be many trips to come by train to discover more and more Canada, my new home.

Meet "The Subway"

During my 9 years in Dubai, I had my car and taking Dubai Metro (which was inaugurated on the 09/09/09) was more of a touristic ride to show around friends and family visiting Dubai, so it was never part of my daily routine. But I was always a big fan of the underground, especially when visiting London or Paris, and believe it saves traffic hassle and money, and decided that when I move to Toronto I don't want to buy a car at least the first year and use instead the public transportation to go around which it seems it s accessible and covers big part of Toronto city..

And when I was looking for an apartment, one of the main criteria I had to judge a place on was how close it is to the Subway, and especially that the first few weeks after I landed were extremely cold, so I felt the closet I can be to the subway the less I have to suffer outside walking in the snow and the insane low temperature..
 

I was lucky to find a place where the entrance to the Subway was right at the entrance of my building, and I started a love story with the subway.. A story that will last for very long time..

I remember the first trip I did was from Bloor/Yonge Station to Union station and since then I rarely remember a day passed without me taking the subway at least once, and it feels nice when you know you will reach your destination without the hassle of driving..
 

Every time I take the subway I like to look around at people, try to imagine their stories, their lives.. Observing people is my number one source on inspiration for my work, because when you only understand the behavior of people you can come up with real human ideas..
 

Even though I miss my car, and sometimes the delays or sudden closure of stations for emergencies can be annoying but I think the subway will be my friend and my way of going around for the years to come, and I like it.