Trashy's World

Budget next Thursday. I wonder if anyone on the Opposition side will munch on a Jos Louis while Flaherty delivers it?

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I hate this time of the year. It’s not really winter nor spring. More like sprinter. Of course the city is trying to save few bucks on snowplowing and sidewalk snow removal, so the warm temps combined with the wet snow has made for quicksand like conditions… nice bit of cardio getting to the bus though.

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Again, Max Bernier. Gotta love him. But what has amazed me the most is this statement by Jim Prentice:

While Bernier was applauded in the right-wing blogosphere, Prentice was left to distance himself, and the prime minister, from what they know are politically explosive claims. Said Prentice: “The views Maxime has put forward are his personal views. They are not the government’s views. I don’t specifically share them.”

Huh!? But, but, Mr. Prentice. He is in your caucus. He was a member of Cabinet. And the PMO has a stranglehold on the message, doesn’t it? Please. Of course they are the government’s views. Those types of views that Harper et al have done a very good job disguising. And now you have a loose cannon… what are ya gonna do about it, eh?

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The OC Transpo debate going on in XUPs hood makes for great reading. A bus driver plopped himself into the discussion this week, defending against many of the accusations that have been levelled against  OC Transpo in the blog and elsewhere).  This is akin to dropping Alex Ovechkin into a den of Canadian hockey players; he never had a chance. Some of his or her points have some validity, such as the need for public pressure to bring about change to our inefficient transit system. But the bottom line is that by and large, service sucks and many riders are tired of paying rate increase after rate increase for a crappy product.

Yet once in a blue moon, something shines through that fog of driver rudeness and route inefficiency.

I was taking the 86 yesterday when, on Russell Road, one of the passengers forgot to ring the bell in time and the bus cruised by his stop. This younger guy wasn’t familiar with the route and went to the front to ask the driver to let him off at the next stop, about 400 metres further. To which the driver said that the passenger should just stay on the bus as the 86 looped back just a little ways further. Now, it was a crappy sprinter day – cold and very wet – the passenger would have been soaked to the bone in those 400 metres. The driver could have simply stopped at the next stop and let the passenger walk a considerably longer distance without saying a word; but instead he thought of the passenger as something more than a nuisance.

Nice. And yeah, I did let OC Transpo know about it. And I also noted that this was a guy, not a cute co-ed.

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The Canadian women kicked some Yankee ass last night and won the hockey gold! Congrats ladies! It is indeed the fairer sex that is carrying the weight for our Olympic team. Now, you buncha professional, overpaid louts of men… I hope you learned something… now go out and kick some Slovakian ass tonight and some of the American/Finnish variety on Sunday!

UPDATE ON THIS FINAL POINT:

I don’t believe it. The Canuck girls decided to go out on the ice after everyone had left and have a little celebration.. with some beer, champagne and cigars. And someone took a photo of this. And one of the girls is 18 and a WHOLE MONTH away from legally drinking in B.C.!

BIG FREAKING DEAL!

Can ANY parent out there tell me that they are offended by this? They just on a gold medal for frick sake! So what if the kid was just shy of 19! It’s this blind and strict adherence to “rules” like these that make me wonder how the human race has survived this long! What are we? A world of hall monitors?

And the IOC is going to investigate… sigh…

Steve Keogh, a spokesman for the COC, said the organization had not provided the alcohol or initiated the party.

“In terms of the actual celebration, it’s not exactly something uncommon in Canada,” he said. “If these athletes were of legal age, then it’s not something that’s against the law. We can understand there’s a lot of sensitivity around celebrations.

Don’t worry girls, 99.999% of the country was out on the ice with you in spirit!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

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• Re: NDP Leader Jack Layton and Prime Minister Stephen Harper found some common ground in a meeting Thursday during a pre-budget discussion: creating jobs must be a key feature of the next budget.

I wonder if public sector job creation is part of this. Doubtful.

• Why, upon boarding a bus, do many people fumble around in the pockets, bags or purses for cash fare, tickets or their pass – thereby delaying everyone else on the bus? Did they think that they wouldn’t need to pay or show their pass? Can’t they plan well enough in advance and have their fare ready to plop into the box? Are they surprised to suddenly be on a bus?
• Staying with the transit theme… OC Transpo riders have maybe noticed the green, red and while pamphlets declaring that Transit security is everyone’s business!

Trust your eyes! While waiting at your bus stop or riding the bus, be alert. Watch for unusual situations, behaviour or packages, and report anything suspicious!

If you see something, say something!

Have I missed something? Have there been some terrorist incidents on the City’s buses? Should I tackle the next guy I see carrying a red briefcase. Yeah, I know some of you are all for increased vigilance… but doesn’t this strike you as a bit paranoid?

• Glad Gordon Lightfoot is not dead. Funny how that rumour spread like wildfire over Twitter before being picked up by the mainstream media.  Reports indicate that Mr. Lightfoot was quite happy about this as his tunes saw a level of airplay that they hadn’t seen in years. CHEZ 106 reported this morning that they had received an email from Anne Murray saying that she had indeed passed away as well.
• Coyotes (silent “e”) or coyoteees – which is it?
• The pointed hatted folks in Vatican City have declared that brother André from Montréal will become a saint. Well, good for him, darn it! But I gotta say that he looks a little fragile. I mean, even as the placekicker, I think he’ll have some problems. One hit and this dude is in a mess of pain! Has anyone told Drew Brees?

• Last, but certainly not least, I’d like to wish my eldest subunit a happy 17th birthday this Sunday! Love ya honey!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

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Yup, it is six years to the day that I finally gave up tobacco for good.  I, like many smokers, had tried to quit several times before but had succumbed. But this time, with a ten year old and a newborn part of my life, I decided that this time, my addiction was NOT going to win!

And I pat myself on the back for succeeding. Yay me!

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Random stuff that popped into my mind this week:

1) Why are there only about half the number of OC Transpo buses on a Friday morning than any other day of the week. It couldn’t be that drivers are calling in sick and the Corp. simply isn’t bothering to replace them? Naw… that can’t be it.

2) The days are getting noticeably longer – and that makes Trashy very, very happy.

3) Don’t you hate it when little kids get sick and they look at you with that “why aren’t you fixing this, Daddy?” look? Cuts ya to the soul, it does.

4) Earbud etiquette: when is it rude to stay plugged in? At a store? Out for a walk? Are there some social situations where you should absolutely fer sure unplug yourself? What about when you’re at the counter buying something from the corner store. The clerk doesn’t give a crap about you so why should you give a crap about him?

5) Concussion update: feeling much better. The headaches have subsided to a dull throb. And even though some (Dave) will think that I will be a total wussy by doing so, I’m buying a helmet.

6) I’m writing this while sitting on the 148 on the way to work. The Wordpress app on my iPhone is pretty effective and I’m getting the hang of the keyboard. I expect more and more of my posts will be courtesy of George (my iPhone’s name).

7) One last thing – I’m still chuckling about the onion ring madness that has gripped the nation for the past few days (56,566 fans and rising!).  Seriously, if you want a good laugh, scroll few some of the hundreds (or thousands) of wall posts on the site. You’ll see stuff like this:

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

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There has been much gnashing of Ottawa student teeth, and Ottawa seniors’ gums, over the past week concerning the OC Transpo fare increases to be put into place next summer. Students are crying “poor us… why won’t anyone think of the children!?” And grey-hairs are croaking “dag-nab-it! we’re entitled to lower fares than everyone else! We went through WW2 and the Great depression, you know!”

Now, I am NOT one to defend the increases or essentially anything that OC Nogo proposes, but in this case I have to (gag!) set that aside.

Planning future revenues is essential to any business and the better the projections the better informed the business decisions. The Ottawa transit goofs are no different.  They need good information on ridership to be able to make decisions on everything from capital investments to staffing.

Plus, single tickets and monthly passes mean higher administrative costs than those associated with passes of longer durations; say annual or per semester passes.

As the handy-dandy table below illustrates, there is an attempt to get commuters to commit to a transit pass of longer duration. Thus the fee adjustment are lower for the annual and semester passes and higher for single tickets and monthly passes. This is not new. OC Transpo, and I suspect most public transit organizations, have been moving in this direction for quite some time.

Look at the bottom of the scale and you can see that student passes (in yellow and senior passes (in grey, of course) are increasing only marginally. all of the other increases fall somewhere between the two (my pass is coloured green in the table above).

While I don’t think for a moment that the increases in costs will result in better service, I can appreciate why OC Transpo is structuring their fee increases in such a manner. Sure, it is a bit harder to come up with the higher up-front annual fee – especially for those on fixed incomes – but the City is giving everyone about 8 months to put aside the money.  A senior need only save $50 per month in order to purchase an annual pass next summer.

Even for most pensioners, that’s really not much to ask, is it?

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

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As always, I say – well put XUP. Another great commentary on that little, twisted organization that we in Bytown like to call: OC Transpo.

And as I said in an earlier post,  this is one almost-former OC Transpo user who has had quite enough and has his name on a few waiting lists for a parking space close to where I work. After 12 years of faithful ridership, I am sick of it all.

One thing that XUP didn’t mention is the arrogant attitude that many (not all) drivers have toward students and anyone who isn’t white.

Students are regarded almost as a necessary evil and are often berated by the driver for holding their pass upside down or something. Last week, a driver called my daughter a “stupid idiot” for trying to use a transfer that was ONE minute past its time stamp! Gimme a break. And the bus was 10 minutes late!

And I’m not saying that all of the drivers are racists but I cannot count how many times I have seen a non-white person be denied entry to a bus for no apparent reason. Some blokes will stand outside the door, arms extended in a pleading fashion, and the driver just ignores him and drives away.

But if that person is a hot white chicky-poo… well, then there isn’t a problem.

Come aboard miss, glad to see you!

But – enough of all this negativity.  In the spirit of all things that we LOVE (I’m trying to be positive cuz I’m a positive kind guy, eh?) about OC Transpo, I humbly submit the following.

Things to love while on that packed aluminum coffin racing 100 km/h down the Transitway

• I love the way that the drivers will almost intentionally jerk the bus ahead before the passengers have a chance to anchor themselves.  I especially love the way that seniors’ heads are smacked right into the upright posts – makes a cool “boing” sound.

• I love the way that folks with strollers / wheelchairs or crutches are treated – like the dawgs they are. Shame on them for not being able-bodied. Shame!

• I love how some buses just do not show up on Fridays… I’m just guessing that the driver has called in “sick” that day and the office  cannot be bothered to replace him. What’s the big deal? It’s not like the riders have anywhere important to go!

• I love the way that stay behind the yellow line is unevenly interpreted. If the rider is a non-white male, behind the yellow line means a good 6 feet. If the rider is anyone else but a non-white male, they can crowd the front much as they want… especially if they are a hot and white chick wearing short shorts.

• I love those buses that appear to have not been cleaned since Chretien was PM… though I suppose that is also a reflection of the general slobbishness of many riders… so,

• I love the general slobbishness of many riders – it seems as though I have been mistaking the floor of the bus as a floor all of these years – while in reality it is the bus’s own little landfill. My bad.

• I love interior climate control. It is for the driver’s comfort. Not the passenger’s. It is the operator’s union-given right to wear his or her shorts and ATU t-shirt and jack up the heat to “unbearable” in the middle of January if  they so wish! The riders should be thankful for the free sauna!

• I love the Special Constables. Or are they the Gestapo – 2009 version? Hard to tell the difference. But you have to love all the cool stuff on their utility belts.

• I love windows that do not stay closed.

• I love windows that don’t open.

• I love how the bus schedules are pretty much just a “guide”. Plus or minus 15 minutes is quite acceptable. What’s the hurry?

• I love how the bus stops are plowed right when you need them in the morning… provided you start work sometime after 11 am.

• I love those doors that close on you as you are exiting the bus. I really love that sense of panic when you realise the the bus will likely take off from the stop with you trapped half in and half out of the bus. Gives me a rush to think that I can be beheaded by a passing car.

• And it would of course be my fault.

• I love the operators who greet your sunny “good afternoon” with a grunt. Kinda like a “unghn”… hard to pronounce. But it’s attractive.

• I love the operators who provide monosyllabic answers to sincere questions from a rider. As in “If I want to get to Elmvale, am I better to take the 86 or to take the 148 – or should I take the 112 from Billings?” Response: “unghn”. Clear enough to me! Why don’t you learn how to speak Canadian, eh?

• I love how it seems that, when I’m in a hurry to get to work, 27 express buses in a row from the ‘burbs go by as I’m waiting downtown to transfer before one arrives that is going as far as Tunney’s Pasture. I really, really do love that!

• And then I love how it’s completely packed.

• With high school kids juiced up on Red Bull.

• And my MP3 player is outta juice.

• And the driver decided that it’s a good time for a layover.

• I would really like to drop a very, very special note to the fine fellow who wouldn’t let the guy with the busted bike get on the 148 at Alta Vista a few weeks back. The front of the bus was completely empty and the guy – with a pass – said “please, just for a few blocks”… and all he got was a “get of my bus” response from the driver… OC Transpo operators do not believe in cutting anyone a break. Not that they deserve one anyhow.

Sigh.

The fact remains that many transit riders have no other option but to avail themselves of this crappy system. And that is truly sad. Maybe the folks of this fair borough will rise out of their red and white shackles and cry for good service, civil drivers and on-time buses!

But I doubt it.

Finally, if you have ever gleaned anything from my posts on this blogs, you will know that I’m a freakin’ LEFTY.  But even I am saying that maybe, just maybe, we should think about contracting this out to the private sector. If I ever run again for municipal office, that will be one of the planks in my platform. I swear!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

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If I had any doubts about giving up on OC Transpo, they have effectively disappeared.

A bid to end crippling strikes or lockouts at OC Transpo was voted down on Friday by the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279.

The vote was 62.8 per cent in favour of maintaining the strike/lockout model instead of arbitration.

Jim Haddad, Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 279 secretary-treasurer, said he was very disappointed.

“They’re afraid of what the arbitrator will decide. It’s the unknown,” he said.

“Hopefully, the next time the two sides are at the table they will negotiate and get a contract.”

Yeah, right.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

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So the ATU members are voting to give up their right to strike.

Yippee. Nice thought.

But given:

• the increasingly cramped buses
• the increasingly common buses that just, like, don’t show up
• the increasing congestion downtown and around Hurdman station. And I suspect it’s the same around Baseline, Lincoln Fields, Orléans, etc.
• the ever increasing fees for ever decreasing levels of service
• the notion that the transit users of this city will likely be the ones who foot the bill for the Siemens out of court settlement resulting from the Council’s ineptitude
• the notion that if I need to urgently pick up one of my little ones (i.e., “Hello, Mr. Trashy, this is the school calling, your little one has been throwing up all over the staff room…”), it will take me a minimum of an hour by bus or a $25 cab ride to get from work to the school or daycare.
• the distinct possibility that even if the ATU does vote away their right to strike, they may just go ahead and do so anyway
• etc.

For an extra $65/month extra – once I cancel my bus pass – I can park in the underground lot across the street.

After 12 years of riding, you’ve lost me, OCT and ATU. Bye-bye

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

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The phasing in – according to the Citizen:

No word on dates… but I’m guessing we’ll see the O-Train and the 80 & 90 series routes back as early as late next week. Here’s hopin’!

OC Transpo has a tentative plan for restoring transit service as quickly as possible, but a return to full service will take some time. Mechanics are working to bring all the buses back, but vehicles that haven’t had significant maintenance in more than 50 days can’t all be put on the roads immediately.

This is OC Transpo’s tentative plan for which routes will be back first.

Weekdays

Will operate during their regularly scheduled day, including rush hours:

• O-Train

• All school routes, numbered in the 600s

• Rapid transit routes 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 101, 102 and 106

• Major routes 2, 7, 12, 14, 85, 86 and 118

• Peak employment route 105

• Van route 123

• Early morning routes 824, 825, 830, 835, 837, and 873

Will operate evenings and mid-day only, outside of rush hours:

• Routes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 16, 18, 87, 111, 112, 114, 115, 116 and 117

• Local black routes numbered 121 through 178

Will not operate immediately:

• Green express and rural express routes

• Red rush hour routes other than 102 and 105

Saturday & Sunday

All routes that normally run on weekends will operate at full service.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

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Both sides have agreed to binding arbitration with everything on the table!

This is GREAT news – however, I will blog a bit later about how pissed I am that it took this long!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

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I encourage everyone to send a copy of this (or modified if you don’t really admire the guy or the NDP) to : layton.j@parl.gc.ca

Hi Mr. Layton:

As much as I admire much of what you and what your party has done for all Canadians in challenging the current Government on a number of issues, I do hope that you will put partisanship aside and support the Government (yes, that leaves a bad taste in my mouth) in supporting back to work legislation to end the Ottawa transit strike.
This disruption has reached a point where intransigence is prevailing over cooperation and ego over conciliation.
I know it is generally not the policy of the NDP to support this type of  legislation, but it is my hope that you and your party will think about how the public transit users in this community have suffered over the past 50+ days.

Thank you and good luck this year!

John Marshall

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

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