Recently you published a letter from Wynn Polnicky relating to the article entitled “Transit on city’s radar” in The Morning Star.
His response was mainly triggered by, “The article reported Coun. Juliette Cunningham as stating that, “A lot of people would like to use it but a lack of frequency makes it difficult,” to which Coun. Scott Anderson responded that, “We have been building it for years and they haven’t come.”
Mr. Polnicky felt that money allocated to maintain the service should be re-evaluated based on his feeling that the system did not have the ridership to justify the way it was being run now.
He believed transit in Vernon could use a fresh examination.
My feeling after reading the comments by the councillors and the observations by the letter contributor were that there was a dearth of data in terms of how many people ride the buses.
Anecdotal comments seemed to justify the conclusions, but anecdotal arguments do not provide a solid base for changing the system as I observe it on almost daily basis.
I ride a bike; a Honda 90; a Honda Civic, and I walk.
Consequently, I always carry transit tickets and I use them.
I have had experience with transit systems in Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto.
This transit system is the most people-friendly one I have utilized.
Bus stops are spaced at decent intervals, and the service is usually on time; and where it is supposed to be when it is supposed to be there.
That kind of dependable regularity makes it easy to utilize the transit service in Vernon.
If these councillors really believe that the system is broken, I would like to see a public forum organized by the city in close proximity to the bus turnaround on 31st Avenue, and in the evening, so the people who work can attend, and the people who have mobility challenges can attend.
Dean Roosevelt
Vernon
