Let’s face it, if you’re an adult or trying to become one, Life gets Hectic. This scenario (or, at least parts of it) may seem familiar:
Every week you survive the brutal rush hour commute squished into SkyTrain cars with people whose hygiene is questionable. The bus line extends around the corner which means your chances of getting a seat are close to zero. You end up standing on the bus next to people who step on your shoes, yell conversations over the phone or hit you with their giant bags.
The worst part of this entire journey back home is that you are h
ungry. You can smell the wafts of salty, fatty goodness seeping from steamy paper bags containing burger combos with super-sized fries sitting atop the laps of random passengers. The aroma of pepperoni pizzas, greasy Chinese takeout and/or gyros to-go fills the air of a packed and stuffy SkyTrain car. It either leaves you feeling slightly nauseous or gets your stomach rumbling because you are just that hungry.
If you’re like me, at this point in your comute home, all you can think about is dinner because you’re tired, starving and ravenous. It takes so much willpower and determination to walk past restaurants, fast food joints and convenience stores on your way home. Then you start to think about the contents in your fridge: Hmm, everything looked fresh… Two weeks ago…
And, when life gets hectic, the last thing you want to do is go grocery shopping. Personally, I hate it. Enduring the line ups, obnoxious people with 100
items in the express lane, customers requesting price checks over a 30 cent difference and hauling bags of food home is my own personal hell. All I want to do is eat dinner! The other option is takeout. But, I don’t want to order pizza or sushi for the third consecutive night in a row. Especially, if I intend on having a somewhat healthy diet and a balanced budget. Eating healthy can be such a struggle in a world of high-fat convenience foods and busy schedules. Why would I go out of my way to pick up groceries and cook a meal when I could just as easily call any local eatery that delivers. The very idea of having zero dishes to wash is especially enticing! Don’t get me wrong, I love cooking and often do so (I recently made jerk chicken marinated in a homemade spice mix, courtesy of Jamie Oliver, with a chili-rum-sugar glaze. No one died of salmonella poisoning so, I considered it to be a Success). I just wish that there were more options for convenient, healthy eating in Vancouver to accomodate busy lifestyles.
In South Korea, British grocery chain Tesco has already come up with the ama
zing idea of bringing a grocery store to tired transit goers. They set up a virtual grocery store in subway stations which allows busy urbanites to order groceries using their SmartPhones during their commute. The best part? Your groceries are delivered to your doorstep by the time you arrive home! I know, it sounds too good to be true…
So, let me run this down for you… While you wait for the SkyTrain, you could be buying groceries and paying for them. Think of all the time that would save, along with your patience! You won’t have carry bags of groceries onto the bus or SkyTrain and worry about eggs breaking or bananas bruising. Unfortunately, this doesn’t solve the problem of cooking dinner. Yes, this you will still have to do unless you’re fabulously wealthy and can afford a personal chef. And, until I’m grown up enough to own my own place (preferably a downtown loft space), I won’t have a dishwasher. However, bringing a grocery store to commuters would encourage people to cook for themselves, choosing healthier alternatives instead of fast food and takeout (which would be more cost effective in the long run). A little convenience goes a long way when you’re trying to find balance in a busy life. 
thebusloop 