Nice try on the new definition though Matt. I think what you were referring to though was Socialism. See the definition in Wikipedia please: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism. What year of University did you say you were in?

comments from admin Come on now. Why don’t we all move into a big commune and share all our belongings then. Your big screen TV is my big screen TV. Your SUV is mine (neither of which do I own, so People have different incomes and decide to spend their money in different ways. I do not want to change the current system at all (I think it is pretty decent, with some lows in bad weather - but that is to be expected with the age of the fleet). I don’t want to tell anyone that they can’t use the service. Do you complain about people who have enough cash to pay for valet parking at the Corel Center? They have the cash, and they are willing to spend it on a service provided. Enough people want the service so it is a viable business… if there were not enough people using it, the service would not be offered. Simple… We already have Regular and Express bus passes. Are you saying that this is already segregation. No! It is practicality. Those who can afford to take an Express bus with services that meet their needs will use it. Those who don’t need or cannot afford it will take the Regular Fare bus. Simple really. Practical too.

I am suggesting a way for people who decide that they would like even better service than that on Express busses to be able to pay for what it would cost for the service. Sometimes you have to think outside the box (although I know that can be hard for many people) to figure out ways to improve our situation all around. This is an idea that could pump more money into the system, not cost it more…. Oh, and for the tree huggers out there, think of all of those SUV riders out there that we might be able to convince to take the bus! Hmmm an environmental advantage too! But since I am jealous that Joe decides to spend his discretionary income on something that is not important to me, then Joe must be a bad person.

Comments from adminKate, just think if some people are willing to pay more for the “elite” or “comfort” services, it will be a service that actually will free up space on the other busses and will earn more in fares than the other busses too. It will help keep the regular and student fares lower…. I am not asking that other fares be increased, only those who want to pay for better service. I think that with the cash that OC Transpo has, they do a great job. But just look across the river to see how having a city invest in a transit system works. Have you seen their plan for “rapid transit”, have you seen some of the busses and the level of serivce. I am only saying that people who want better service for commuting in should be able to pay. Why not let OC Transpo run the service (the infrastructure is already in place) and make some extra cash (again, the total fares made by these busses would be higher) and let that extra cash go toward subsidizing the other services…. I don’t want to take away from the current services, I want to pay more to get more.

OttFamFun Admin Comments: Please don’t yell. It was just a wish list type of idea, I don’t want to freak people out. I just mean that I would be willing to pay more to have a comfortable ride in that was not crowded. If you take a bus with a capacity of 50 seats allowing 20 to stand… very rough estimate. This bus would make 70 X $87 = $6090 in fares (all bus passes). If 50 people are willing to cover the cost of the “standing room” by paying more. 50 X $150 = $7500. Ok, so now we have covered the cost of the fares. These busses would make $1410 more in fares over the course of a month (per 2-way trip) - I think the bus could probably make more than 1 2-way trip a day, so if it can do 3 trips both ways, you can increase the $$ made from fares (on just one bus!).

I agree that this is a pipe dream that will probably never happen. But service like this would help reduce the number of vehicles on the road (people who don’t take public transit because some routes can be quite crowded and annoying. Ask anyone who works in Gatineau and has to transfer onto an express bus by getting on the last stop. How many times do the busses pass them by in -20C or -40C weather? I bet several of them would be more than happy to pay a little more to have a seat when their bus comes by. Not to mention that there are usually 2 comfortable idiots standing midway blocking people from actually standing comfortably. The bus driver actually has to exercise logic for the masses and ask the idiots to move back! How dumb can people be! I want to be comfortable, but not at other’s expense. My suggestion is to allow people to pay for the extra comfort. Who knows what it would cost!?

As for the Bankrupt statement. A bus with 50 people riding on it would actually bring in more $$ in fares than one with 70 crowded. We already have 2 levels of bus service: Regular and Express (I would group rural with Express even though rural routes pay $1 more each way or $110 a month (did I mention they ride in with the services I basically would like to see from some of the park and rides on the outskirts of the city (Stittsville; Kanata; Orleans)

Not to mention that putting large seats in a bus means an even LARGER decrease in the available number of regular seats… Which means you’re cramming all the people who can’t afford an “elite pass” into a smaller area, forcing them to stand shoulder to shoulder while looking forward at empty seats with complimentary newspapers… For $60 a month? You have to be joking me….

Private companies, if a strike does take place, why not make a deal to use OC Transpo land (tranistway, etc.) and actually test out my idea. People could still park at the Park and Ride and pay to use your services. You might get a good idea of what people are willing to pay in order to avoid driving in (while getting there comfortably).

If any private company is thinking of doing this, please let me know and I will post a link with information for those who might be stuck if the OC Transpo Strike does go ahead!

Colin

I would like to add that for this service, the buses should be very clean. Buses are filthy, and it really bothers me.

BTW, regarding your comment about special seating, I completely agree with you.