LETTER

STO’s culture and attitudes are the problem

 

The STO wants more people to take the bus. It can’t cover existing routes, yet they think they can meet a 5% hike in ridership in peak hours? They can only support 95% of the existing – on a good day. That means that about 1,000 people are inconvenienced daily.
 
Here’s an idea. Build a multi-storey closed-in parking lot with rooms where riders can wait. A bit like Place d’Acceuil in Hull. With a Tim Hortons selling beverages only. Charge $5-$10 daily for bus-pass holders for the parking, and offer bus fare rebates for those who buy the monthly passes. But make sure the costs are passed on to those who buy passes and not taxpayers who do not use the STO at all. It could be a pilot project for the region.

The STO’s problems in Aylmer have been around for 40 years -- the same today as in 1977.  

If problems are unresolved after 40 years, one has to wonder why?  

Five years is an implementation issue; 10 years is a logistics issue; 20-plus years is a culture issue. The only way to fix the STO is to fire its 200-250 members and start fresh. Remove all perks unless the service stated is actually the service provided -  not just a portion of it. If we don’t do this, the prevailing culture will continue for generations. We’ll all be dead and our great grandchildren will be complaining that the bus didn’t pass, or passed without stopping. And the STO will answer that they advised on their internet site that a line would not have a bus at a certain time, or that the bus was full, and they did not expect so many people waiting to take the bus.

And those STO SUVs everywhere which cost taxpayers a pretty penny? What do they do if not gauge fluctuations in ridership? Why are some people still having to wait for the next one? Any of STO’s “too bad, so sad” mentality should be reprimanded and riders compensated. People are tired of excuses.

Throwing money at the STO will not fix the problems; it already has plenty of both. Eradicating the prevailing culture in its top echelons will.

Nicolas Mazet
Aylmer