A couple of videos showing a sprawling group of people partying on Vancouver transit have gone viral on TikTok.
In one of the videos, a large crowd of young people walk through a park in Yaletown and enter the Yaletown-Roundhouse Canada Line station. Once they are inside the station, they begin to jump up and down, shouting and cheering as they do.
A voice-over in the video states that "hundreds of exchange students" overloaded the transit system, blocking entrances and crowding trains. The person who created the video also alleges that "police tried to intervene but that just made it worse."
Another video also shows the crowded transit platform. The TikTok caption reads, "Yaletown subway station was crazy last night, [I don't know] how nobody fell on the tracks."
@604.functions Yaletown subway station was crazy last night, idk how nobody fell on the tracks
♬ original sound - 604 Functions
@emmalouise.ave These are the nights we live for!! 💕🇨🇦#foryou #vancouvernews #vancouverbc #exchangestudents #yaletownvancouver ♬ original sound - Lulu
Crowding at Yaletown-Roundhouse Station: Metro Vancouver Transit Police respond
Metro Vancouver Transit Police (MVTP) spokesperson Cst. Amanda Steed tells Vancouver Is Awesome that police didn't receive any calls related to the crowd of people on the transit system.
"It is my understanding that a party was broken up nearby in Vancouver on Friday night, which caused the unusually large crowd to spill onto the platform at Yaletown Station," she wrote in an email.
"There were zero reports of unsafe or criminal behaviour. Most of the young people boarded the first train that arrived, which meant the platform was only crowded for a short period of time."
TransLink's transit system is equipped to handle "very large" crowds of people, Steed added, noting that the numbers were similar to those seen on Friday nights "pre-pandemic, with a major event like a BC Lions game and/or Canucks game."
Steed also remarked that what she thinks "makes this particular situation so unusual, is the fact that everyone was singing and dancing."
The MVTP encourages passengers who feel uncomfortable or unsafe to remain on the train and exit at the next station. If someone is surrounded by a large crowd, they should stay calm and find a safe place to stand away from the tracks, if possible.
Passengers should familiarize themselves with the safety features of the train, including the yellow safety strip located inside the train car. Pressing this strip will activate a silent alarm. There is also an intercom system on board all trains which allows passengers to speak with the TransLink Operations Centre in the event they need to communicate a safety issue.
Text Transit Police at 87-77-77 or call 911 in an emergency.
