The first bus taken for the Commuter Challenge was the 40 bus, which stretches across town but still required some walking. (Spencer Sterritt/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Spencer Sterritt

active transportation

Bike vs. bus: taking the Commuter Challenge around Nanaimo

Jun 10, 2019 | 10:28 AM

NANAIMO — For the last two weeks, I left my car at home and either biked or bussed to work, taking part in both Go By Bike Week and the Commuter Challenge.

I’ve been riding my bike to work more often these days, but my car was still a crutch to get anywhere quickly (whether I need to be quick or not). I used these two weeks as a chance to leave the car at home, save some gas and see what active transportation in Nanaimo is really like.

Go By Bike Week

Biking to work was certainly the hardest of the transportation options available, even though it’s a relatively straight shot from my home downtown to the NanaimoNewsNOW office.

winner winner

Clippers sweep pre-all star weekend with gritty win in Cowichan

4h ago

rental properties

Proposed Nanaimo housing complex advancing, despite 'significant' height & parking variances

21h ago

Home Ice Win

Strong start propels Clippers to 6-3 win over Kings

Jan 11, 2025

It took me roughly 25 to 30 minutes to travel the E&N Trail, a nice and smooth ride with a slight incline which still taxed my legs by the time I arrived at the office.

Having now biked around much of Nanaimo, I don’t believe the E&N Trail gets the credit it deserves. It’s a simple, wide, straight path right from the core of Nanaimo to the north end, where it connects with enough streets you can carry on to anywhere.

In a city as hilly as Nanaimo, having a relatively-level bike path shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Between the E&N Trail and the Parkway Trail, which runs along the Nanaimo Parkway, I believe Nanaimo has all the bike paths it needs.

In online comments before embarking on Go By Bike Week, I saw a lot of people talk about how Bowen Rd. should have bike lanes.

I feel that would be a foolhardy waste of resources.

We already have two major bike routes running north to south. Instead of adding another, I think we should focus more on bike lanes within neighbourhoods and running east to west, to better facilitate easier transit from one side of Nanaimo to the other.

I didn’t have any issues with drivers while riding on the roads. I was respectful of the available space and hugged the curb. Only once or twice would a car come too close and make me wonder if I’d be in an accident.

I also didn’t see any cyclists, in either morning or evening commutes, flagrantly ignoring the rules of the road. Everyone I saw was respectful of one another.

While I certainly haven’t been biking for that long, I do believe comments and criticisms about how arrogant cyclists are on the road are woefully blown out of proportion.

Commuter Challenge

Taking transit for a week, while easier on the legs, was a much more nerve-wracking and lengthy commute.

It didn’t begin well, with me getting to a stop much too early and then stressing about if I was going to make it to my evening softball game in time.

Leaving the softball field and returning home required a 25 minute walk from McGirr fields to Woodgrove Centre.

Getting into the habit of walking somewhere to take a bus was easily one of the biggest adjustments I had to make during the Commuter Challenge. It wasn’t a dealbreaker, but it was something I’d forgotten about in my years since taking Toronto transit every day.

Nearly all of my buses were on time. The longest I had to wait after the posted pickup time was five minutes, on the Sunday.

I found there to be a good mix of direct and winding routes to take me anywhere in Nanaimo. Taking the direct route from my place to work was slightly quicker than riding my bike.

If I was in a rush, the RDN Transit system wouldn’t work. But with a bit of planning, I managed to get everywhere I needed to go.

Much like with cycling, the online commentary I see about Nanaimo transit is of how terrible it is, how you can’t get anywhere in time, how tardy the buses are.

Also much like with cycling, I feel the online criticisms come from people who enjoy complaining and probably don’t have a lot of hands-on experience with transit.

Will I leave the car behind?

While riding around on the bus one day, I did the math of how much I would save using a $65 monthly bus pass.

With a bit of planning, transit can easily get me from home to work, shopping centres and my friends’ houses. It gets me to work slightly faster than it would taking a bike.

The amount it costs to take the bus for a month is two-thirds a tank of gas these days. On average, with a mix of city and highway driving, I have to fill up my car roughly three times a month.

So, though the Commuter Challenge is over, you’ll definitely still see me on the bus and riding along the E&N trail as often as I can.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit