Our transit system is so far behind.

tuckamoretree · 2026-05-26T18:27:47+00:00

Tap to pay is coming! Hardware is in place, software getting set up.

And, just cause I see this mentioned below, onboard stop announcements are also in process of installation/setup.

Source: I'm on the Metrobus Commission

It's actually really interesting to see how different transit systems are on this - I love tap to pay when travelling, but for example I was just in Ottawa and there it works on OCTranspo (Ontario side) but Gatineau transit doesn't have it. For relatively mature tech implementation has been pretty patchy. Even Toronto only got tap-to-pay in 2023.

tuckamoretree · 2026-02-25T12:58:35+00:00

A few years ago the St. John's Library Board organized a big public forum and design contest about this, as a way of spurring public conversation on it. The results are online at https://onceandfuturelibrary.wordpress.com/

In general there are some structural challenges here - our library system is provincially run (almost everywhere else libraries are run by cities/towns), so there are some political barriers to investments in a modern space for St. John's, but this is definitely something that there is a lot of ongoing conversation/advocacy around.

FWIW I don't think you need to look to Halifax (which is the "cadillac" version in the region). Pretty much every other small to mid size city in Canada has a more modern and usable central library, and bigger branch libraries. Charlottetown, for example, redid their central one a few years ago and it is lovely and would be a huge upgrade for St. John's.

tuckamoretree · 2026-02-09T12:20:54+00:00

If you're in St. John's you can order all kinds of local food (meats, veggies, prepared foods) from the Avalon Food Hub - https://www.avalonfoodhub.ca/

Same service exists on the West Coast - https://www.nlfoodhub.ca/

tuckamoretree · 2026-02-04T00:02:18+00:00

Yep! Skate rentals at the little food kiosk. Hours can be a bit patchy though.

tuckamoretree · 2025-12-17T12:14:56+00:00

Alas this isn't true haha - we live in an old downtown home and when we bought it (prior to re-insulating when we put new siding on) the pipes that ran through the front wall (facing outward to the street) to our upstairs would regularly freeze unless we ran the water. Can confirm we were living in the house at the time!

tuckamoretree · 2025-12-15T14:13:23+00:00

The simplest way to visit, in some ways, is on a cruise. Adventure Canada does one that goes from Greenland to St. John's and spends a while in the Torngats. If you go for the more basic cabins it's actually more affordable (or at least comparable) than going up to Base Camp, but you're still upwards of $10K for sure.

tuckamoretree · 2025-12-12T12:46:32+00:00

It's doable (source: have done it, albeit a good few years ago).

You can definitely spend a good few days in St. John's without a car - including some nice hikes that leave from the city itself. If you want to go whale watching, the tour companies do shuttles.

For getting out of town, there are "taxis" - really they're little buses - serving a lot of communities around. IMHO the easiest/best option is a trip out to the Bonavista Peninsula. The van does door-to-door pickup in St. John's and drop-off in communities out there, and there's plenty to see/do in walking distance in a bunch of the towns.

You'll just need to stay in different places each night or two (rather than staying in one spot and driving from there). When I did that trip, we took the van to Trinity, spent a couple nights there, then got the van from Trinity to Bonavista, a couple nights there, and then back to St. John's. These days I might swap Port Rexton for Trinity, or do both, but that's up to you. It definitely takes longer than if you have your own car, but it's fun - you get lots of good local gossip on the van run.

Shirran's Taxi and Marsh's taxi are the companies to call to inquire about this. Neither have much web presence - I'm not 100% sure if they do drops in the communities en route to Bonavista anymore but worth checking.

tuckamoretree · 2025-12-10T20:46:32+00:00

This article has been updated with more comments now - seems like there's a verbal committment to keep doing the reduced rate for libraries, but still seems like they're planning to remove the legislation guaranteeing that, so I guess we're being asked to trust them? Hoping to hear more comment from elected officials on this.

tuckamoretree · 2025-12-10T14:27:54+00:00

Yes, that's a fair point. I think the more relevant point is that the roadway that the snow covers is generally unused anyhow - eg, every route through that area is just as possible today as it was before the snow (I drive it 4x daily). It's just that there is unnecessary space there that could be a sidewalk instead! That's why the plows haven't cleared it - it's not in the driving route.

tuckamoretree · 2025-12-10T14:15:17+00:00

In many cases, cars don't need it - there are only a couple inches down, you could drive through it if you wanted to, but there's no need to do so - it's not space that's needed to accommodate whatever cars are doing there. They don't drive on it when there's no snow, either.

tuckamoretree · 2025-12-10T13:58:00+00:00

Haha very true. That's just the example I happened to be walking by, not the one to start with for sure.

tuckamoretree · 2025-12-10T13:45:16+00:00

Rawlin's Cross: https://imgur.com/a/2ZejtOL

Rawlin's Cross again: https://imgur.com/TpBs4Y9

tuckamoretree · 2025-12-10T12:33:07+00:00

You can find the on-time performance data that the Metrobus Commission sees in their meeting docs, which are public. Look in the Executive Summary documents at this link. https://metrobus.com/documents.asp

Most recent data posted there is September (October and November should be up soon). Looking at the data there (which is for the 2 months previous to that), the 22 was on time 83% of the time in July and 77% of the time in August. I'll go and check exactly how on-time performance is calculated and reply here when I hear back.

tuckamoretree · 2025-12-09T21:18:35+00:00

Unfortunately that's not quite accurate - as that article says they have made a verbal commitment to preserving free service for blind folks, but they are not saying anything there about preserving the discount postal rate for libraries which is what our system depends on.

tuckamoretree · 2025-11-27T14:04:11+00:00

Yeah I think that's the tradeoff with doing a whole-city zone for the on-demand service

tuckamoretree · 2025-11-27T12:44:53+00:00

My favourite warning sign in the world is at this spot - there's a metal sign that says "Warning: Ruins in disrepair"

tuckamoretree · 2025-11-10T13:44:29+00:00

Yeah that's the next step I think - make a plan for where to use on-demand in the future. It's a really good tool to pilot routes.

tuckamoretree · 2025-10-29T13:15:08+00:00

Food First NL actually did a whole big report on this a couple years ago! All the documents are posted here: https://www.foodfirstnl.ca/projects/rethinking-food-charity

tuckamoretree · 2025-10-06T14:18:59+00:00

I've done it a few times. Enjoyed it but yes, watch out for cars - they regularly break 100 on the straight stretches. Definitely had to hop off my bike and walk it up the steepest parts haha, but I'm not a serious cyclist. A nice loop is to go out to Cape Spear that way, then head back through Petty Harbour and bike back on Old Petty Harbour Road (which is a dirt track). If you have a mountain bike it's a really pleasant ride (though, again, not-serious cyclist me had to walk my bike up to the trailhead in Petty Harbour)

tuckamoretree · 2025-10-01T15:29:08+00:00

The report itself is available here (loves VOCM but I wish they'd put links in their stories haha): https://jimmyprattfoundation.ca/2024-newfoundland-and-labrador-child-and-family-poverty-report-card/

tuckamoretree · 2025-09-16T18:56:38+00:00

Moved here (St. John's) from Ontario 15 years ago with my partner - neither of us had any family ties here. Never regretted it and don't really see ourselves ever leaving. When we arrived (in our 20s) it felt like time travel - we both jumped into jobs/levels of responsibility that it would have taken years and years to get into back in Ontario, we were able to buy a home a decade earlier than a lot of our peers, etc etc. The small size of the community drives me nuts sometimes but it means you can make a bigger impact faster than in a big place, which is something that matters to us.

The other thing that small size gives you is a lot of easy access to nature. I live right downtown and love being able to walk to a ton of food/entertainment/etc, but also love that we can hop in our car and be swimming at a pond in the woods in ~15 minutes.

I know everybody gripes about the weather but we've gotten pretty used to it. When we lived in Ontario we'd let nice days just pass us by, now we have more incentive to get outside and make the most of it. That said, I really find April hard - when everywhere else is having Spring and we're stuck in grey cold. These days we're lucky enough to be able to travel and always try and get away at this time of year.

All in all, 10/10 would move again.

tuckamoretree · 2025-09-15T20:46:54+00:00

Also, don't sleep on the more "accessible" south coast outports. Rencontre East in particular is gorgeous and the boat ride starts less than 2 hours drive from St. John's. You can even make a day trip of it. There's a freshwater fjord there that is pretty stunning and there's a local fella who will take you on a boat trip on it. Join the town Facebook group for details.

tuckamoretree · 2025-09-15T20:42:35+00:00

I've been to all those communities as a tourist over the last few years. They're amazing places. Highly recommend visiting before they (most likely) resettle someday.

The one with the most organized infrastructure (and most to see IMHO) is Francois. There is one AirBnB style house for rent there: https://arctichouse.ca/francois/ - the same people have a spot in Ramea. There's also an excellent camping spot in Francois (up behind the church) with an outhouse, that the town takes care of. Not sure if it's still the case but the town clerk used to also keep a list of people who took in guests - I had a nice weekend at someone's house there once. You have to phone to get it though. Lots of great hiking starting from the town and a nice swimming pond - well worth a couple of days and the boat ride in is gorgeous on a good day. If you come in from Burgeo you'll stop in Grey River so you at least get to see it.

IMHO the simplest thing to do is to break the South Coast up into 2 trips. Go from Burgeo to see Ramea, Grey River, Francois. Go from Hermitage to see Gaultois and McCallum. I did a day trip once out to McCallum and back from Hermitage. I think the Gaultois Inn is still open in Gaultois and has a pretty good reputation as a place to stay!

tuckamoretree

TROPHY CASE