RE: Recent Ottawa council decision to increase fares by 7.5%

Here are my thoughts on the proposed 7.5% increase in bus fares:

- How many councillors (including our newly-elected and financially stable mayor) take a city bus regularly? Of those who do, how many are on fixed incomes? Didn’t these same councillors just vote themselves a raise which will see their salaries jump 35 per cent to $94,600 from $70,000?
- Wasn’t former OC Transpo head Alain Carle recently awarded a severance of $130,000 after being fired late last year? (His severance is equal to his yearly salary; however, Mr. Carle only worked for 6 months before being fired.)
- A report for Ottawa's transportation committee says the increase is needed to meet the goal of having 55 per cent of the transit costs paid by fares. What exactly is the rationale – based on what? How do these increases make Ottawa a “world-class” city? Why aren’t cities all across Ontario and/or Canada passing similar increases to their public transit fares? Why is Ottawa the only city to do this – not once, not twice, not three times, but FOUR TIMES!!??
- If memory serves correctly, the city had dedicated $36 million towards the light-rail project. Why is this money now not going towards offsetting the operational costs which OC Transpo incurs every day with its existing system? If the city cannot account for these rising costs, then why is it aggressively pursuing the expansion of the existing bus system? How will it pay for the new operational costs incurred by this new expanded bus network if it can’t cover the costs of the existing bus system?
- Someone will have to help me on this point: how many OC Transpo riders are lost every time that there is fare increase? If approved, this will be the 4th fare hike in bus fare I’ve witnessed in 4 years. So how far ahead is the city in getting new money with each fare increase?
- What percentage of the remaining ridership simply has no other transit choice – i.e., the poor, the working poor, students, and the elderly?
- Has the city’s Transportation Committee studied the impact of more cars on the streets and highways? How does the city plan to cover the added expense of this additional traffic? Doesn’t this automatically increase the greenhouse gases from vehicle emissions? Is the city truly committed to environmental stability, or just pretending that it is? (We are Canada’s capital last time I checked, so we should be setting an example.)
- This comment is not meant “to dis” the bus drivers because they have to put up with a lot every day. I have used the city buses for over 20 years and I don’t see a huge improvement in service other than on some of the Transitway routes. The routes I take generally don’t keep their scheduled times and the connections are ridiculous considering that I am connecting at one of the major transfer points in the bus system. The buses more often than not are crowded during rush hour periods. So where is all the extra money going? What is the “grand plan” to improve OC Transpo service? Or are these just empty words that are never translated into action?

I firmly believe that the city bureaucrats and politicians (and especially the politicians) are so used to taking OC Transpo riders for granted that they can’t stop for one minute to think of the riders’ perspective. Because of this, each & every day, they are collectively failing the OC Transpo ridership. We’re small potatoes in their daily fishbowl of “more important things to do”.

I also firmly believe that OC Transpo riders must band together to demonstrate their displeasure with the bureaucrats and politicians. I believe some of the following may help show our frustration:

- E-mail each & every councillor, including the mayor and give them all the reasons why this fare increase (the fourth in recent years) is not fair & must be stopped. (Don’t expect a reply; they are famous for not even acknowledging receipt of your enquiry.)
- Post your comments or letter on as many blogs on the Internet as possible. Start one of your own & let everyone know about it. Here are some web sites to get you started:
http://list.nowar-paix.ca/pipermail/nowar/2005-September/001047.html
http://splatto.net/blog/?cat=22
http://www.progressivebloggers.ca/blog/affiliate.php
http://www.friendsoftheotrain.org/

- Perhaps if the OC Transpo riders organize a “strike”. That’s right. We just stop taking the bus for a day every so often – we can be strategic and localize these “strikes”. If we do this often enough, it will have to start affecting OC Transpo’s revenues. Try carpooling for a day, a week or a month - whatever is possible. Try taking one less OC Transpo connection (e.g., transfer to an STO bus) if possible at all. If you can live without a monthly pass once in awhile, do it! Every little bit will add up in the long run.
- E-mail the provincial and federal ministries of transportation (as well as the federal Infrastructure Canada). These are sources of money for OC Transpo. Let them know how their money is being spent. (It wouldn’t hurt to e-mail your provincial MPP and your federal MP while you’re at it.)

Well those are my musings. Let’s send a strong message and let the City of Ottawa know that we’re FED UP!!!