can of worms: bus service, 24.7


It appears there are some folks asking the City of Edmonton to make our transit run 24/7.  Thus far, I hear a lot of arguments coming from young kids who are drunk and can't afford cab fare, who are fortifying their argument by stating shift workers would use it too.  So let's examine this. Based on historical incidents, practicality, common sense, and feasibility, we'll try out a couple scenarios..

Some people including nurses and doctors and welders working night shift will be able to take the bus home from wherever they are at 3:00 a.m.  People who are working the night shift are, all in all, only a handful of people, a very small portion of the population.  The #1 complaint next to lack of 24/7 service is infrequency - the wait time between busses.  Everyone wants to have a bus stationed immediately outside their doorway when they are done their shift, and one that takes them right to their door at that.  Therefore, in order to make this service affordable to the city without increasing taxpayer subsidization, the cost of off-peak fares would have to be substantially increased to offset the lack of ridership, and the routes would have to run once an hour, tops.  So I dunno about YOU guys, but if I was finished my shift at 3:30 a.m. and had to wait until until 4:30 a.m. for the next bus, pay $5.00 for my fare, and sit on the bus for up to 3 hours, depending on how well I make my connections OR drive OR pay $20 and have a cab take me right to my doorstep, chances are pretty good I want to just go home.  Really, all y'all want is a $3 cab ride...  I say, live closer to work, or work closer to home, and ride your bike.

Some people who are drunk might not drive if they could take a bus home from the bar.  Yes, people, there are those who think drinking and driving will be  thing of the past IF ONLY the city would provide public transportation!  Imagine, if no on ever HAD to drive drunk again?  Someone better call Operation Red Nose (they come and drive you home WITH your car) and tell them that they can cut their volunteer base in HALF nay QUARTER once the busses start running 24-7 .  *whew* What a relief!  And the bouncers and waitresses could take the bus, too - the party can continue on the way!  Yes, it's a great idea to put a bunch of drunks on a moving vehicle at 3:00 a.m.  I'd personally like to know who is chipping in for the puke buckets?   And for those of you who claim you are sober at 3 a.m. and just partying, just looking to get home so you don't have to crash on someone's floor: you have NO EXCUSE.  If you're presumably responsible enough to not drink, you are presumably, ergo, responsible (and sober) enough to catch the last bus home.  Deal with it.

Now, above and beyond all of this, let's take into consideration the safety of the bus driver and the passengers.  Aside of the aforementioned handful of the population that works nights, the types of people who would be accessing all-night transit service are statistically speaking, at least, not necessarily your Sunday church crowd.  I imagine there would be all sorts of wayward souls in varying states of sobriety and consciousness, and various levels of cooperativeness.  A driver is completely defenseless on a bus.  Imagine a busload of brawling drunks - what is the driver able to do?  Pull over, you say?  And what of it when someone pulls a knife or a gun?

So, let's sum up:

Limited ridership
Not cost effective
Safety concerns for passengers and drivers

I wonder how many weeks and taxpayer dollars will be wasted investigating this no-brainer...

Comments

alphonsedamoose said…
You summed this up very well. Now , of course, the Edmonton silly council will approve the 24/7.
Babzy said…
We've had a number of bus drivers beaten up including one woman bus driver who was handing out candy to passengers on Halloween. Some girls at one bus stop hauled the driver out of her bus, candy bowl still in her hand and beat her to a pulp. All she did to deserve that beating was to offer the girls some Halloween candy. That was one of the worst, I suppose, because it was girls beating on a woman. But some of the guys have been beaten pretty badly too. I would never ride a bus after rush hour.

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