Mark Sutcliffe, Do Better: MULVIHILL
Let’s be realistic. Public transit in Ottawa sucks.
Recently, one unfortunate transit rider offered his daily itinerary. He takes a bus to Baseline Station, then another to Tunney’s Pasture to hop on the LRT to the Rideau Centre to transfer to another bus that takes him near his office and adds an additional 10 minute walk to finish his commute. His trip into the office adds 1.5 hours to his day, providing all buses are on time and the LRT is running. He’s seriously considering driving and, realistically, so would anyone.
But this daily commuting nightmare is perfectly okay with the powers that be at city hall. They don’t care and it shows.
According to PSAC national executive vice-president Alex Silas. “We have this sort of double-speak from the mayor’s office where on one hand, he’s been one of the louder voices pushing for federal public service workers to get back to the offices downtown, and then on the other side, he’s making cuts to transit.”
Public servants .. federal, provincial, and municipal … are being treated like herded cattle and they don’t like it. Who can blame them? Most public servants have families and would rather spend that 1.5 hours each day with them rather than being cheek to cheek with strangers on public transit as they desperately try to get home.
Your Worship, your attitude and behaviour is disrespectful to those you count on to use the pathetic transit services you provide.
Do better.
Donna Mulvihill is a community activist and former hospital coordinator
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In fairness, we need to hear what this individual’s commute was in the past to be able to judge the current commute. I’m not sure a 45-minute commute each way is necessarily unreasonable. I have friends who grew up in Arnprior and Kemptville and have chosen to stay in those communities and commute to jobs in Ottawa for lifestyle reasons.
Has that person, for example, made the choice to live where he or she lives because of a good school for their children or proximity to friends and family or some other valid reason? Is the location convenient to a significant other’s employment? There are many factors that contribute to choices people make in life and these are just a few.
Many rural residents of Ottawa who currently have no transit service at all would love to have this individual’s problems.
I’m not suggesting transit services in the city are good or even barely adequate. I’d just like to have the full picture of a person’s situation to measure the validity of their remarks.