Mayor Watson should show some humility

Mayor Jim Watson is now furious and our city manager is lamenting that the Rideau Transit Group failed our city.

I, too, am furious and feel let down by transit on a daily basis.

But correct me if I am wrong, did these two individuals not preside over the construction and launch of this #ReallyBigServiceChange? How about a little humility, gentlemen?

I am no transit or city planning expert, but I foresaw many of the issues that have arisen.

You don’t need any expertise to recognize that reduced, infrequent and unreliable buses serving temperamental trains is a recipe for disaster.

The testing of the trains and LRT system was not transparent and, as a result, there are rumours about what testing did or didn’t reveal. Nobody from city hall has done anything to set the record straight.

I now pay $119.50 for a monthly transit pass, one of the most expensive in the country, for a level of service so bad that it makes national news. I spend more time than ever waiting for OC Transpo vehicles that may or may not come and may or may not have space for me. Many of the things I like to do in this city have become increasingly inaccessible. And winter is coming.

And what of the unseen costs of this fiasco, like the loss of workplace and academic productivity because of frequent late arrivals, the loss of time spent with family, the medical appointments that are missed, the businesses whose offerings have suddenly become less accessible to people who rely on transit to get there? I will be re-evaluating the activities I participate in given the unpredictability and general awfulness of getting around town these days.

As I concluded this letter, my mobile phone buzzed. It was the OC Transpo automated alert service informing me of a second bus cancellation along my route today. It’s not even noon.

Natalie Vogt, Ottawa