Yesterday on Australia Day, I caught “the CAN”, as Sydneysiders call it. It was an unpleasant 1 hour ride home to Holsworthy. The CAN is a train with no air conditioning and no security cameras from the early seventies.

in our car, I was surrounded by more than 20 kids (mob) aged 10 to 18 going home as well from Sydney festivities. Everything illegal was used and done on the train: violent acts, property/train damage: ripping most rubber that seal the windows, ripping and damaging seats, alchool drinking, pot and cigarette smoking inside the car, foul language, verbal abuse and racial insults to other passenger especially to Indians and Chinese, poking and hitting each other with flag poles. Plus it felt like 50 degrees C inside the car.

The kids kept forcing train doors open at most stations, the trip took more than 20 extra minutes. The driver kept announcing that Security and the Police have been called, but I never saw any Security or Police officers.

I had lived in San Francisco and Los Angeles for 21 years; I have never feared for my life like I did yesterday on that train. Happy Australia Day to me.

This morning at 5:20AM, I was fortunate again to catch another CAN from Holsworthy to the City and was sweating all the way to Circular Quay, people were slowly cooked in there. Shame on you Sydney CityRail for having these trains in service in 2010.

I always tell people that I am one of the luckiest people in the world for having lived in two of the most beautiful cities in the world: San Francisco and Sydney.

But San Francisco have had 2 superb, state of the art ”Air Conditioned” train systems:

1. MUNI within the city limits, that’s Municipal Railway. A subway system in Downtown that become “Street Cars” in the neighborhoods.

2. BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) System that services most of the bay area. Riding BART is like being on an airplane, sealed quiet ride.

Sister City relationship between San Francisco and Sydney were established in 1968, Sydney should learn a thing or two from her sister.