Re: the letter Transit users taken for a ride in the May 18 Saanich News. I thank the letter writer for pointing out some of the many issues in Greater Victoria’s public transport system.
Like him, I relied on the bus system as a high school student and still rely on it now to get to work. To be frank, it’s extremely unreliable and inefficient.
One of the problems I often encountered during the time I caught the bus to school (Reynolds secondary), was my bus simply not coming at all. In fact, this wasn’t a rare occasion. I, along with my peers would be forced to wait for the next scheduled bus and end up being late for school, and I’m one of the lucky ones who lives near a key corridor (Shelbourne and McKenzie).
Some of my peers in high school had it even worse off. For example, I had multiple friends who lived in Langford and caught the bus home. If they missed their bus which left 10 to 20 minutes after the end of the school day, they had to wait over two hours for the next. If a teacher held them back after class for even a short time, that was enough for them to miss their bus and not be able to get home until the late evening.
These are just a few of the many problems that people are having to deal with. If the provincial government increases funding to Greater Victoria’s public transport system we can not only address these issues, but increase ridership and revenue, therefore helping to cover the cost.
Ned Taylor
Saanich