Re: Emergency strike fund already gone, Jan. 20.

The Canada Industrial Relations Board is to decide soon on whether Ottawa's public transit system is "essential" and thus worthy of special protections from work stoppages in labour disputes.

I suggest that the service is really two systems, one essential and the other not. The all-day routes are designed to serve the full-range of trips for what is mostly a car-free clientele. The transit industry, itself, calls these patrons "transit-captive."

The other system is the rush-hour-only express-bus routes designed primarily for those working downtown and living on "the fringe." These are people who mostly have access to cars and to ride-share opportunities through their workplaces. They rarely use transit for other kinds of trips. The transit industry called them "transit-choice."