crows to burnaby

I was looking up schedules on Translink's website recently, and noticed a shiny new button for a three-step trip planner. (The button itself, oddly, doesn't actually link to the trip planner - clicking on it does nothing. You have to select "Trip Planning" from the menu at the top of the screen. Perhaps Translink could use a little usability consulting?)

Using the destinations provided BY TRANSLINK in the drop-down menus, I decided to try to see if it'd be faster to take the 44 from UBC to Granville Station, or take the 99 and then transfer there. If you're not familiar with Vancouver, this is a pretty fundamental route: it means travelling from a campus of 40,000 students to the heart of the downtown core. There is one express bus that does the trip in about half an hour, and a number of smaller trolley buses I haven't tried.

But Translink's site told me:

We could not find any connections between the origin of your trip and the destination (ending point) of your trip at the requested time. This may be due to one of the following:

Your request is for times during the day when service is not provided in that area.

Your requested origin and/or destination are not within 0.5 km of the closest transit stop.

Your request will require an unreasonable number of transfers or a duration of longer than three hours.

Please try modifying your request, or see HELP for search tips on input.

I tried selecting Pacific Centre, too, since it's right across the street from Granville Station - no go.

Maybe some of their advice would help? Let's see:

• I was searching for times around 4:00-5:00 pm.
• I was using the transit stops provided by the system.
• I know there's a bus that does the trip with no transfers in half an hour.

But I guess it's just not possible. I guess you just can't get downtown from UBC in less than three hours. That's funny... I'm sure I've done it before...