Dear Sir:
I live on the Southside. Every morning I go to work for 8 am which means I depend on the 7:30 Southside scheduled run to get me there. At least 5 times since the beginning of December of this year I have either been late for or missed work entirely because this bus simply failed to show up.
Excuses provided by drivers are that if the Gitaus run is more than 15 minutes late the outhside run is cancelled?
That is not much solace for those of us standing out in the cold (wind chill – 29 this morning) waiting for a bus that doesn’t come. Other Southside riders I know have resorted to taking taxis to work so as to arrive on time. I suppose there are some transit riders that can simply choose to take their vehicle instead but not all of us have another vehicle or even a drivers license. Those people depend on the bus being there and being on time.
I believe in the value of public transit for all the regular right reasons. Green environement etc. But all of those are only applicable if the service is dependable. I have lived in other centers in BC and never found such unacceptable bus service. Most areas would send another bus if the “connector” was late.
After all, a schedule is a schedule is a schedule.
Next time I hear a complaint about low ridership I will know one of the reasons in Terrace. Undependable service.
Is BC Transit aware they are paying a contract for services that are not being rendered? The school run at 8 am is never cancelled. This, combined with the Gitaus issue lead me to believe that the Gitaus band and/or the school district pays more per capita for the service than BC Transit does thereby putting regular transit users at risk of random service at best.
Attempts to complain have been met with ‘Undeliverable email’ messages. There is not even a contact email on the BC Transit main website. There is however a snail mail address so that will have to suffice for an official complaint.
Ray Hallock, Terrace, BC
