By Pepper Parr
July 8, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
What if the transit drivers decide they want to force their issues and walk off the job Monday morning – the 13th
Transit people will tell you that once a bus rider leaves it takes a long, long time to get them back.
Mayor explains using the bus schedule on his cell phone
Riders are forced to find some other way to get around – and they often like what they find – even if it costs more and they stay with it for some time.
There is a break in the trust that existed between the transit drivers and those who use the buses.
People who depended on transit had their lives significantly disruptedand they don’t see their transit driver as the friendly person who they met and chatted with every day.
There is a disintegration in public trust – something that is hard to quantify or measure but it is certainly there.
Burlington is not a transit friendly city. There are people who will be delighted when the bus no longer drives by their house making more noise than they want to put up with.
Those same people don’t like the noise the garbage truck makes but they put up with it because they want their garbage removed.
They are not transit users and they resent the amount of their tax dollars that are used to support transit – they see transit that is something for people of limited means – and they don’t see Burlington as a city of limited means.
This attitude is part of a particular demographic – it isn’t seen in the younger people – they adapt more easily and tend to have a different take on the damage that cars do to the environment.
It will be interesting to see what the transit workers decide to do and how city council reacts.
Mayor thinking through a problem – transit is going to occupy some of his thinking this weekend.
All I can say is they sure better except this offer, sounds like a finale one. Striking doesn’t get anyone anywhere, I know I was there, ends up starting with the first offer presented. Not counting in Bankrupt, Divorced, Health issues and more, best of luck on the decision.
The drivers do a good job and have some good points regarding compensation and the city is fiscally challenged.
I am hoping that both sides can agree as transit becomes more critical to the future success of the city
sick of all these articles written by people who dont know whats going on. All it takes is some research and you can see why transit drivers of burlington are upset the public needs to be informed of the upcoming strike instead of writing these biased articles with choice words favoring you know who. It seems the city is trying to hush hush all of this as many of my friends haven’t even heard of this potential strike that has been going on for the past month. My driver goes above and beyond for me every single day doing more than just driving me from point A to B these are people that are trying to fight for what they think is fair.
At the end of the day the fate lies in the union to come to a decision and I will respect their decision whether a yes or no and will continue to use transit come monday or whenever they are back behind the wheel
I just happened to follow up on these stories, it’s all landing on the Mayor Of Burlington. It seems he’s not the man for that City. Time for a change, need fresh faces come election.