CAMPUS Rocky start Animation students finally back in class after teacher abruptly quit last month. P2 ARTS & LIFE honeybee hives. P4 What's the Buzz New strain of deformed wing virus sweeping through local langaravoice.ca Sunset Thefts A South Van neighbourhood has seen a spike in crime. Transit woes Students and residents frustrated with No. 49 service By ANDREA DANTE angara College students and | residents are increasingly disap- pointed with the service of bus No. 49, and most say the attempted solutions to improve the service are so far ineffective. A 2021 review, TransLink identified the No. 49 bus route as the second- busiest in Metro Vancouver. The route, which connects West and East Vancouver along 49th Avenue, aver- ages 22,000 boardings on weekdays. The No. 49 is also ranked 11th among lines that cause the most delays in the region, according to another TransLink report from 2019. Crowded buses and long waits have some riders choosing different bus routes to avoid the No. 49 — and desperate to see changes to the service. Fran Ferrada, a health sciences student who takes the No. 49 every day, complained about wait times. “It takes too long,” Ferrada said. “Most of the time, buses pass by [because] they are full.” David Chin, who ran with Progress Vancouver for city council earlier this month, began a petition to increase bus frequency, provide shortened routes/loops, and introduce express bus services along 49th Avenue. “The capacity for those buses is never enough,” Chin said. Design formation student Leah Gies thinks the No. 49 route should have an express bus like on 41st. “Tt used to be very busy, but eventu- ally they got the express bus and the service improved,” Gies said. Rod Anderson, a bus driver in Vancouver for 25 years and drives the No. 49, said the problem with the express service on 49th Avenue is that its mostly all single lane, so there is nowhere to pass. “If there is no way to get around, you do not benefit really by the express service,” he said. TransLink said via email, “our 10-year priorities commitment is to assess long-term capacity needs and evaluate potential rapid. transit tech- nology alternatives.” TransLink also said it made “minor adjustments" to route 49 last month to “address overcrowding,” such as adjusting frequency to every four-to- seven minutes towards Metrotown Station from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. week- day afternoons. OCTOBER 27, 2022+ VOL. 56 NO. 1 > VANCOUVER, B.C. A lock located on the outside of the door of a Langara student's previous homestay. P1070 SUBMITTED Hostile conditions scare one student into leaving homestay By JAY SCHNELL lood drops on the floor, external padlocks on doors and video monitoring were the last things one Langara student expected to encounter upon arrival at their homestay. The student, who asked to remain unidentified for safety reasons, booked the homestay last summer through Quality Home- stay, a Vancouver-based agency that connects international students with host families. For students from another country, often without family or friends, find- ing a safe, comfortable place to stay can bea gamble. “The first day that I arrived, there was blood on the floor in the front,” the student said of the host family’s apartment. The student said the host told them the people who lived there before “were crazy.” Photos taken by the student showed cameras that monitored the premises inside. The student said one pointed towards the bathroom and their bedroom door. “If the bedroom or the bathroom was open then the cameras could see inside,” the student said. Another photo showed locks on the outside of the doors and notes taped to a wall. One read: “has camera, we can see you, what you doing.” Another note read: “This is “The first day that I students, then hung up the phone. On its website, Quality Homestay states that “we look for homes where a guest will feel welcomed and safe.” The Voice tracked down Quality Homestay, the agency listed on the contract between the student and Fernandez. However, a call to the agency’s phone number went directly to voicemail and the primary not hotel.” . email address In addi- arrived, there was blood was invalid and tion to the " bounced back. disturbing on the floor. The company’s conditions at —LANGARA STUDENT office on Robson the homestay, Street was found the student said the host made fun of them. One day, the student arrived in tears, and explained to Fernandez they'd been followed home by a man. According to the student, Fernan- dez made jokes about it, later asking, “oh, have you seen your boyfriend again on the street?” The Voice reached out to the student's Burnaby homestay host Elizabeth Fernandez, who initially stated she didn't have time for vacant, with people working in neigh- bouring businesses saying they hadn’t seen anyone for two months. Opengovea.com — a site that provides access to data issued by Canada government agencies — listed Quality Homestays as “gone out of business.” Kimberly Liu, operator of the agency Homestay Vancouver, said it is the agency's responsibility to main- tain quality and check in with hosts and students frequently. Liu said it is very important that the agency maintains an active rela- tionship wich the host families. “T visit every host family that regis- ters with me,” she said. The Voice was unable to find the oversight body responsible for homestay programs in the province. Attempts to ask background ques- tions to Langara Homestay have been unsuccessful. Tenancy B.C., which has laws and regulations regarding the relationship in a co-operative living environment, says “co-operative members are not tenants” and therefore are not under the B.C. residential tenancy act. The student advised other inter- national students who are having a problem with homestays to take pictures and to talk to their agency regarding relocation. The student eventually sought a new homestay. “This homestay seems really cool,” they said. “They’re so nice to me.”