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Friday, March 6, 2015

And now for an update on the ongoing saga that is the 90A


What's wrong with the 90A? Here's the background.

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cj. Honey. Your bus doesn't guarantee the 7:15 train so your, to quote you, are to fucking let that go. GOLD STARS!

You have zero background in what its like to run a big transit operation. Stop telling us how to do it. If people have such high expectations of a schedule, they should drive. Drivers can't brake rules just because you have some place to be. Sorry.

C.J. Smith said...

I may have "zero background" in running a transit agency but I have a pretty big background in grammar of which you obviously have none.

Piss off with the whole "I should drive" mantra. Metrolinx prides itself on the "big move" -- a goal to get people out of their cars and to help with gridlock...

Stop using Metrolinx's computers and the time you're paid to do your job telling me, or any one of us who PAY to get to work, how I should be a passenger.

That is NOT what you are PAID to do.

adam said...

^ Grabs popcorn

^ Pulls up chair.

Shit's getting real, son!

C.J. Smith said...

Sorry Adam. There will be none of that.

Bicky said...

Aw, and I thought it was going to be another Free-for-all Friday. *pouts*

Meh, I should get back to work anyway. Mental break is over.

C.J. Smith said...

Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.

If people want to freebase crazy, they can create a fightcrazytrain.com blog and duke it out over there.

FRED said...

Did the first anonymous write this morning's GO text alert messages?

Metrolinx may want to send their GO Transit employees on a spelling course. That's another good use for the fare increase.

C.J. Smith said...

Fred,

Seriously... GO Transit has some amazing people who work for them. One bad apple who has a hate on for me should NOT and does NOT allow for anyone to then assume everyone who works for GO/Metrolinx is rotten or rude, etc. So Fred, not today. Not ever. Not cool.

Anonymous said...

As a fellow 90A rider I applaud you for chasing this up and not letting it go. There is just too much inconsistency in the timing of this bus, and I can't understand it either. All signs point to the driver.
Barb

Fred said...

Cindy
I'm sorry. You're right.
And to any GO Transit employee reading this, I'm sorry if I offended you.
As for the Metrolinx employee who can't spell, you should be grateful for your job and your attitude is awful. I would seriously consider smartening up.

C.J. Smith said...

Hi Barb

If you could be so kind, could you please also write to GO Transit?

greg.percy@gotransit.com
Paula.Edwards@metrolinx.com
customerrelations@gotransit.com

and cc me in your letter?

I would really, REALLY, really appreciate the help here.

I really feel they think I'm nuts.

C.J. Smith said...

Hi Pat
I don't know what you mean.
Please email me.

The GO guys said...

Whoever anonymous is, that is *not* how anyone who represents Metrolinx should address paying passengers.

I am embarrassed. Thank you Cindy for standing up for us. That one employee most certainly is not an example of the kind of people we are.

C.J. Smith said...

I am only assuming the person works for Metrolinx. The person could work for the TTC - who knows?

Anonymous said...

You have to find out what the service standards for GO Transit are before having a tantrum about poor service not meeting schedules.

Your complaints will go in the bin if the lateness falls within their acceptable service guidelines, no matter how hard you pound your fist on their desks.

They told you that bus is designed to connect to the 7:28, that's your answer.

C.J. Smith said...

Sorry to disappoint you but my complaint hasn't found its way into any bin.
It is up to GO Transit to explain their service standards for bus routes to me.
It's not my responsibility to determine what is acceptable. All I know is the service is different and as a paying passenger, I am entitled to ask why.
As it stands, the 90A is bring reviewed with possible schedule changes being implemented April 11th.

What does that tell you?

It's quite rotten of you to write that passengers' concerns are ignored. I've run the site long enough and met some amazing people at GO to know this is not true because of the changes I've witnessed and reassurance I saw.

I really hope those of you work for Metrolinx or GO realize how your dismissal of us in your comments does a huge disservice to the agency as a whole.

You don't speak for me and you don't speak for those who do care.

Anonymous said...

@C.J

Go Transit Operator here.

I have read all your posts regarding the 90 service.

You have had multiple different drivers and the result is the same.

The bus is leaving on time and while its picking up and dropping off passengers it gains and loses time, which is due to the boarding process.

The end result is still the same you either reach your final destination on time or two minutes down, by your own words.

I see no problem.

Fun Facts:

1. I have bad grammar
2. I typed this on my own laptop on my day off.
3. I drive to and from work in my car. I even pay for my own gas.
4. I am also a tax payer.

Have a Nice Day.



C.J. Smith said...

^ Your grammar is awesome!

How is it that you missed the part that the bus arrives at stops 8 to 10 minutes past the scheduled time and how this affects passengers connecting with other buses?

I've had long discussions with my evening driver, who is amazing, and has helped me understand how routes run, and are designed, and he agreed the route needs to be adjusted. He can't explain to me how one driver can be on time every day and another can't. Or how one week differs from another other than suddenly 300 people all decided to take a vacation at the same time.

It's not up to him to figure it out but he's had other morning passengers ask him if he knows why the route went all wonky in the fall and remains wonky.

Let's see what happens April 11th.

Thanks for writing and you did not have to feel you had to justify yourself because your colleagues have been behaving like jerks.

Anonymous said...

@C.J.

Go Transit Operator here again.

It has always been that the bus has a departure (start) time it leaves on time. All the other times on the schedule throughout the route are all estimated times. However the Operator can not pass that scheduled time prior to what it says on the schedule.

On the 90 service there is no connecting bus service for the 90 service. The 90 bus is a train bus it's only connection is with the train.

Yes, passengers can transfer when they get to either downtown Oshawa or the train station to other buses (Go/Metrolinx or Durham) but we do not connect with that service only the train. That is your connection.

Watch this Bus turn into a Train.



C.J. Smith said...

Interesting. You're the first to tell me this bus only has one purpose.

So really, all the years prior to October has only a tease for the past five years to those folks who planned their morning commute utilizing this bus.

Looks like the lady I met who now drives to Ajax and the one who taxis to Laval Drive are doing everything right. I'll let them know.

I'm dissapointed in all the emails and tweets I have exchanged with GO since January that no one communicated to me this was basically as extended train service to Bowmanville and vice versa.

I had no idea.

So why is GO Transit adjusting this route this April?

Why not just leave it the way it is?

Anonymous said...

@C.J.

Go Transit Operator

The 90 bus does have another purpose other than just being a train bus.
It gets people to points along the way where they can transfer to the next available bus.

I can not respond to why.

Changes to schedules are done through planning.

Operators are not privy to that information until it is basically on us.

Everyday at Metrolinx is exciting.

Keeping you and the rest of us in the know.





C.J. Smith said...

^ Are you trolling me now?
Didn't you tell me the 90A serves only one purpose? To connect to a train?
Didn't I tell you that people used the bus to connect to other buses?
Didn't you tell me who the fuck cares?
Now you're telling me it *does* matter?

Please just stop writing.
You're not funny.

You're just a troll.
Well played.

You got me. Bravo.

Anonymous said...

@C.J.

Go Transit Operator

I am no troll, I never said anything profane to you.

I have only explained the system to you.

Maybe you just didn't get my little bit of sarcasm near the end regarding Metrolinx.








Anonymous said...

"the 90A is bring reviewed with possible schedule changes being implemented April 11th"

Schedule changes? So, they'll make it official that the bus doesn't arrive at 7:13? My guess is 7:20 will be the new arrival time. Good luck.

Oh, btw, the super driver that manages to consistently arrive at 7:07 isn't doing his job properly either and will probably get some talking to for being so early.

The late drivers won't see any trouble over it, just the early one.

C.J. Smith said...

Here's what I've learned:

Bus schedules don't matter
GO management doesn't respect its drivers; drivers don't respect management
Passengers should buy a car
GO shouldn't operate regional bus service
Passengers should ignore any kind of printed schedule
Drivers should start their route and drove directly to the station and not bother picking anyone up because we shouldn't be there
If a route suddenly operates differently we shouldn't ask why
Schedules are merely suggestions
GO isn't mandated to provide reliable bus service

That pretty much sums it up.

I'm going to begin a campaign that GO Transit cancel the 90A. I'm also going to suggest it's pointless to do any further bus expansion by GO into Durham Region.

I'm going to do what thousands of other people do here in Courtice. I'm buying a car in the spring. And I will join the masses who spend 20 minutes to get out of the Oshawa GO station parking lot because it's clear to me that despite what Metrolinx has marketed, the end goal is not to get people to use buses to get to and from the station but to drive and also, to not consider GO bus service as a reliable means to travel across Durham.

I hope that hundreds of GO bus operators are laid off as part of this campaign because clearly bus service isn't an important part of GO Transit and isn't worth keeping.

So thank you everyone for this incredible and eye opening insight.

C.J. Smith said...

By the way, you don't have to be profane to troll someone.