Summer Editorial Series – There’s a Bus for Everyone

A few months ago, the Guelph Mercury published a week long series about Guelph Transit; its past, present and future. And while the series was informative and interesting – especially the details of Guelph’s forward-thinking past so far as mass transit is concerned – it seemed that the series remained, at the core, one written by people who don’t take the bus regularly, and can’t speak with true insight on the problems with our transit system.

The examination-slash-retrospective came from the coming changes to Guelph Transit starting this fall. These changes include new and altered routes as well as peak time 15 minute scheduling. Combined with the move from St George’s Square to the inter-module transit terminal next spring, and the anticipation for the expansion of GO Transit trains to the Royal City, it would seem things are looking up for those in Guelph that either by choice or necessity, take the bus. The sad part is though that the new transit looks a lot like the old transit.

To wit, if you are on a Guelph bus right now, and it’s a weekday, then you may have noticed that you only had to wait 20 minutes for the next bus rather than 30. This is thanks to a grassroots effort by a number of citizens who spoke out against another year of transit cuts in the 2011 budget. As a result of the outcry, not only did city council maintain 20 minute service throughout the summer, but partial stat holiday service was restored too. You might have taken the bus to Canada Day festivities in Riverside Park, or enjoyed John Galt Day activities downtown.

Sadly though, in spite of a number of Guelph Transit drivers that perform their duties admirably and professionally, there are some on the job that still can’t get their heads around the idea that the bus is a commuter service and not Sunday Night vespers with grandpa and grandpa. To them, a trip on the bus is a leisurely drive with friends where you can chat the day away knowing that you will eventually reach your destination. That is if you leave on time. Boarding the bus from downtown, it’s like a game of Win, Lose or Draw: will your bus leave on time, or are you waiting five minutes later waiting for the driver to appear, or finish up a conversation with a colleague?

Again, to be clear, this is not a majority of Guelph Transit employees, but incidents like the ones stated above happen with unusual frequency. The first thing you learn in customer service is that people will remember times of bad service to a far greater degree than the instances of good service, no matter how frequent the latter occur. How many people have been turned off riding the local bus because they missed their transfer, or the bus drove past their stop because the driver was distracted? I’m sure the number is greater than you or I might think because people don’t usually tend to call in to the Transit office to let them know that they’re breaking up.

But it’s not just driver behaviour that confounds, and while one of the articles did compliment Guelph Transit drivers for their friendly attitude, it’s probably one of the reasons why so many people feel like it’s okay to have a conversation with them while the driver makes their rounds. Or that it’s okay to put their bag on the seat and leave no where for someone else to sit. Or that it’s okay to sit at the back in a seat with your feet up. So yeah, this isn’t your buddy’s car, this is public property, and in the winter it’s hard enough to get people on the bus without making them wonder if the only seat available will come with muddy foot prints.

I’ve said this before, taking the bus will never be as fast and convenient as taking your own personal car directly from your garage to the parking lot of you place or work, but it’s also not supposed to be. And because of this, and because its hard enough to convince people to get on the bus in the first place, every time someone has a uniquely terrible experience on the bus is another excuse given to them to tune in, drop out, and get their own ride.

Guelph has invested a lot in their new transit system, but how can we expect people to take advantage and get excited when we’re still acting like it’s 1999, back when there was no Sunday service and accessible buses were a pipe dream. I think I speak for all of us that take the bus regularly when I say we want an improved transit service, and we don’t want to let old world thinking get in the way.

Bell Not Green, Compliments Paid & Nudity

Bell No Longer the Green for Guelph

In a bit of surprise election news, though not in the election we expected, Bob Bell has officially stepped down as the Green Party candidate for Guelph in the next federal election. Bell's reason is that he believes that Prime Minister Stephen Harper will call a spring election, which will conflict with the busiest time in Bell's bicycle-trailer manufacturing company.

“My business is seasonal — busy in spring and slow in fall,” Bell told the Guelph Mercury. “Originally it appeared as though we’d have a fall election and I was ready for that. But now an election is likely in the spring, and that’s not good timing for me.”

Bell continued to say that while the responsibilities of being a federal candidate were minimum outside of an election period, the 40-60 hour per week commitment would be too much for him in the event of a spring election. As for Bell's other job, the one that he's got to run for again in a few months anyway, he's still not sure if he's going to have another go at city council. “Some days I’m going to run again; some days I’m not. I just don’t know right now,” he said.

In an interesting side note, Bell's runner-up for the Green Party nomination was Russell Ott, is now running for Ward 1 city councillor, one of two seats currently held by Bell. As for the Greens, Bell expects a new nominee to be named before year's end, probably in the fall.

Just Take the Compliment

An article in the Guelph Mercury last week examined an unusual bit of bipartisanship:

Progressive Conservative MPP Peter Shurman suggested [Liz] Sandals missed getting a cabinet position in favour of less-experienced politicians during Wednesday’s cabinet shuffle. “Liz Sandals, who has been an MPP for seven years, was once again passed over for cabinet by MPPs elected less than one year ago,” the Thornhill MPP wrote in a press release.

Sandals holds the position of parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, but I suppose it's always nice to be affirmed by others, especially in the esteemed opposition, that you've got potential to be more than a parliamentary assistant.

That wasn't all Shurman had to say about the cabinet shuffle. On CTV.ca, Shurman is quoted as saying that instead of overhauling his cabinet, Premier Dalton McGuinty opted for "cosmetic changes that won't provide any relief for taxpayers" with the creation of new ministers. "What he's doing for Ontario is acting like a speeding train -- going in the wrong direction," Shurman said. "And the two new faces represent an additional opportunity to tax and spend."

Still, one appreciates Shurman's sentiment, but you have to wonder what the idea behind it was. I know it seems unusual in modern politics for people to do things out of the goodness of their own heart, but maybe Shurman's just looking out for a colleague. “Liz Sandals has been toiling away ... for a very long time,” Shurman said in a telephone interview with the Mercury last Thursday. “She can take the compliment. Maybe she would have been a better choice.”

Nothing like bipartisan support. Weird.

In Special Occasion News…

So we’re going into the last couple of weekends of summer, and you might be looking for something to do. I believe there was something this coming weekend, what was that again? Oh yes, I believe it was The Top Freedom Day. A pair of young ladies from Guelph, Lindsay Webb and Andrea Crinklaw, are picking up the baton thrown down by Gwen Jacob, who won legal recognition for a woman’s right to walk around topless after the landmark 1996 Ontario Court of Appeals case. Jacob was charged after walking down the streets of Guelph without her shirt in 1991.

As for the official celebration, organizers Webb and Crinklaw call it “a step towards making it acceptable for a woman to be top free in public” and a chance to continue the effort to “desensitize the masses to the female breast.” The festivities begin at 2:30 pm in St. George’s Square and runs until 10 pm with music, speeches and, of course, body painting. For more information, check out the day’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=133537073352921&ref=search

Week-Long Protests to Fight Homelessness Wraps

About 10 local activists spent the week protesting the lack of permanent emergency housing for homeless youth in Guelph by erecting a tent city in St. George’s Square. With nothing to protect them from the cold except for a few canvas tents and a blue tarp, the group hoped to draw attention to the City’s as yet unfulfilled promise to replace the old Change Now Youth Drop-In Centre with a new, permanent shelter. Under a banner stating, “City Hall Lies - Homeless Youth: Fight to Win!” the protestors hoped a practical and peaceful demonstration might light a fire under City Hall to deliver, especially with winter coming.

This story began in June 2007 when Change Now was suddenly and unceremoniously closed. The Youth Drop-In and Emergency Shelter was located in the basement of Norfolk United Church and on the morning of Friday June 15, members of Change Now’s Board of Directors showed up and ordered everyone out. No reasons were given as the youth were herded out and the staff were given pink slips. An impromptu protest took place in St. George’s Square all weekend, as no answer were given as to why, and the doors to Change Now remained shut with nothing but the words: “Change Now is permanently closed” on the door. The exact reasons were never given. At the time, all board co-president Li Peckan could say was, “The programs at Change Now were no longer able to provide for the needs of the young people.”

Change Now was jointly funded by The United Way and Wellington County Social Services. In the wake of the closure, Morris Twist, then executive director of the United Way, said that it was his hope that a new shelter would be open by September ’07. Of course, this didn’t happen. The concern on the part of the city and all organizations involved was money. Norfolk United didn’t charge rent for Change Now, but wherever a new youth shelter lie, then chances were that rent would have to be an expense taken into consideration. Temporary provisions were set up at Wyndham House and Our Place, and the former Change Now funds were funnelled into these outlets.

Local anti-poverty activists continued to push for a new shelter saying that these supposed temporary measures were no where near enough. At council, the debate mostly focused on funding and how much each stakeholder would/could invest in the development of a new shelter for youth in Guelph. After months of wrangling, the city decided to go it alone as the sole municipal funder, but still working with the Province and the United Way, and get moving on finding a new youth shelter with an opening date of October 2008. Obviously, since last week was the end of October, the inaugural did not happen as scheduled.

However there is a site, bought by the city, that’s ready to serve as the new shelter. The thing of it is that the house at 18 Norfolk Street requires some major renovations in order for it to become safe and liveable. These improvements aren’t expected to be completed until the spring. The Norfolk Street house is currently expected to be opened in May 2009 with an initial offering of eight beds, which may be increased depending on zoning issues. A temporary shelter at 65 Delhi Street, set-up by Wyndham House through $230,000 from the city, will have 12 beds available to youth aged 16 to 21 seeking emergency shelter

But back at tent city, protestors are keen to point out that, according to some estimates, between 150 to 200 homeless young people in Guelph. Many of those people, since the closure of Change Now, have had almost no support, and more importantly, no where to go. “When Change Now got shut down, they promised us a new shelter,” Jeff Way, 25, told the Guelph Mercury. “That shelter ended up not being opened, and here it is, a year and half later. They tell us they have another shelter, but it might take a year to do the renovations.”