Bringing stars to the commute

Perhaps B.C. Transit could entice more riders if it got some star power on Victoria’s buses. Canada was already buzzing with the news that actor Seth Rogen is going to voice the publicservice announcements for Vancouver’s TransLink when Rogen signed on to do the same for Toronto’s transit system.

Across the country, transit users have begun to ask: What about us?

In Edmonton, a petition has been started to draft native son Tommy Chong, one-half of the Cheech and Chong comedy team, for the city’s LRT system. Calgarians famous and not-so-famous have been suggested in that city, including singer Jann Arden and actor Andrew Phung, who nominated himself.

It’s true that all these cities have rapid transit systems, while Victoria has only buses, but that’s no reason we should be left out. Why should we settle for silence or a generic voice on our morning commute?

Victoria has been home to some fine voices who would leave those other cities in the shade. Consider singer Nelly Furtado, actor Meg Tilly or music producer David Foster. If we go farther up the Island, there are jazz artist Diana Krall, and actors Kim Cattrall and Pamela Anderson. For a touch of English class, what about actor Colin Firth, who has been seen around town from time to time? The list would be a long one. Victoria’s transit users are just as deserving of an audio treat as those in bigger cities.