13 Types Of People You Will See On The Edmonton LRT
Edmonton LRT- it's not the most glamorous mode of transportation but when you gotta get from A to B, it definitely does the job. For those of you who are not familiar with the three letters, let us define the term for you so that we don't miss you with this article.
LRT(pronounced el-r-tee): refers to Light Rail Transit that operates in Edmonton Alberta and is a part of the Edmonton Transit System (ETS). The first capital line of the LRT started at Clareview Station in northeast Edmonton and ends in Century Park, Edmonton's south end. In September of 2015, another capital line was added where the LRT runs from Churchill (downtown) to NAIT.
If you have lived in Edmonton your whole life, you've definitely ridden the LRT at some point. Whether it was on the way to school, a concert, sports game or local event. During your ride, you may have come across a variety of people who make you either want to look down or to keep on observing, even with your headphones firmly in your ears.
1. The ones who blast their music so loud that you can sing along to the song.
This one is a given, a part of us wants to tap them on the shoulder and tell them to turn it down but at the same time, now we have "Famous" by Kanye stuck in our head. Or even worse, they blast it directly from their phones with no earphones. We get it, you really like this song!
2. The ones who feel the need to swear like sailors.
And usually, the swearing is so loud that the passengers on the next car can hear. Maybe we should bring a swear jar on the train and start charging them by the word, like holy shit!
3. The MacEwan or NAIT students who've been up all night doing god knows what.
You will most likely catch them wearing sweat pants and school hoodies while sporting a tired frown on their face. The frown resembles the lack of sleep they got the night before from studying, doing an assignment at the last minute or being at Hudson's all night. In terms of LRT stops, they are most likely to get off at University, MacEwan or NAIT station.
4. The loud talker who wants everyone to hear their conversation.
Whether they're having an argument with their bae on the phone, or need to spill the tea on what one of their ex-best friends did to them last weekend, they want the world to know all about it. OMG - she did what to you????
5. The reader... wait, the Kindle reader.
What are we reading on today's commute? Harry Potter? The Shining? Pride and Prejudice? How about that novel by Mindy Kaling?
6. The Edmonton 9 to 5ers.
You can catch them in their casual office attire with a bag or briefcase in hand. They usually ride the LRT early (between 6:30 a.m. -8 a.m.) and get off at Grandin, Bay Enterprise, Corona, Central, Churchill.
7. The person who smells really, really bad.
And the worst part is, 1) they don't realize that they smell bad and 2.) they're sitting next to you. Don't think you feel bad for everyone on that stuffed LRT has to endure the smell too. You proceed to say a prayer in your head hoping that they get an endless supply of deodorant and Calvin Klein cologne/spray for their birthday.
8. The person who forgets to validate their train ticket.
They forget to validate their LRT ticket at the orange validator meter before entering the station. They are usually seen talking to the peace officers and trying to convince them not to slap them with a $250 fine. Seriously though, that costs more than a speeding ticket.
9. The LRT weirdos.
We hate to say this but yes, there have been a couple of incidents where someone has went into full attack mode on the LRT, if anyone can recall to the year 2014 in May where there was a video of a young woman randomly attacked a male passenger on the LRT.
10. The Southgate squad
They usually hop on the LRT between 3:30 to 5 pm. They tend to get out of school around that time and proceed to let the whole train know how their day went, plus crack silly jokes, and talk pop culture while wearing their Jansport backpacks and Adidas sneakers. They're usually standing in front of the door or in the middle of the aisle. They're most likely heading to Century Park or heading northbound.
11. The crazed Oilers or Eskimo sports fans
This one is a given if you board the LRT around 7 pm on a weekday or weekend and see passengers wearing Oilers or Eskimo jerseys with their faces painted to the max. There's a 100% chance that you'll be on the party train! Brace yourself for they travel in herds and chances are, you will most likely be standing the whole ride, well at least until you reach Bay Enterprise or Stadium station.
12. The lovebirds
You will most likely catch them trying to intertwine body parts while showing passengers how in love they are with each other. Sorry you two, can you make sure the people in the back can see too?
13. The missed connection pair
Without any form of verbal communication, you find yourself making brief eye contact with the person two seats down from you. You look away for two seconds, look back and coincidentally, you two are staring into each other souls, both appalled by what you see in each other. This continues until one of you gets off. Imagine if you two had gotten off at the same station? Awkward.
