Yeah, I know the "next stop" sign is drunk. Sadly, like us bus passengers, it couldn't go home.
I know it wasn't GO Transit's fault that someone decided to cause a head-on collision that shut down Highway 2 in Courtice last night to all eastbound traffic at Centerfield Drive.
And I'm sorry the bus driver had to sound like a broken record to every anxious passenger, with places to be, who asked him if he could detour. He could not. He told passengers he was not allowed on side streets or to go off-route.
So he had no choice but to pull over, right behind the fire truck, let some of us off (and kept the Newcastle passengers as hostages) and like refugees, we trudged our way up Highway 2 making calls to friends, or spouses, or to cab companies to arrange rides. I realize our inconveniences were minor compared to the occupants of the people of the three vehicles involved in this crash. I do hope everyone is okay.
It indeed takes a village because as we got to the top of the hill where our rides were coming to fetch us, those of us with rides offered rides to those who did not. As far as I know, we all managed to figure it out. I just felt bad for our bus driver. He was left stranded.
I realize Double Deckers serve a valuable purpose in they hold more passengers, are 100% accessible and compliant and ... and ... I can't come up with anything else. I'm not an expert. I'm not a bus operations person, but I will find out why these buses can't detour onto side streets. I doubt it's the height or width. It's something else. Whatever it is, it's counter-productive when there's a sudden road closure.
Does GO Transit send out a spare bus? An MCI? How long does the delay have to be before the Double Decker is pulled out of service? Do two MCI buses show up to accommodate the passenger capacity of a Double Decker?
I'm available anytime to an Open House at bus operations. I'd love to swing by.
