Oc Transpo really has some ways of endearing its customers.
I'd like to share a story of coming home late on Wednesday night.
If I do not wish to walk from South Keys station, the busses that bring me home are the 90 and the 92. The 92 stops service somewhere around 11:30pm which is fine but earlier than I would like as it's much quicker and doesn't blast your kidneys with the half dozen speed bumps in the main post office parking lot(if you know, you know)
I've made a previous post that the stretch of Paul Anka in between Uplands and McCarthy during the day will have all 4 busses (Greenboro and Hurdman direction) all pass by within perhaps 5 minutes of each other. That seems horribly inefficient but besides the point.
I often walk to South Keys with good weather because Cahill is a lovely tree canopied street and Sawmill Creek always has lots of birds and waterfowl etc. It's a great walk assuming there isn't a multi year construction detour to pass through the station.
Sometimes when I am in a hurry though, I will catch whatever local suits me. I use the travel planner from OC Transpo website and generally speaking its quite accurate when I depart during the day. You can almost bet that any given bus at my corner will show up within 2-3 minutes of the posted time. Usually later rather than early which is a good thing.
Here is the flip side of the story and it is far from the first time.
Coming in from the west end I am having some great luck with my connections. There is something about Hurdman that is my kryptonite though. Coming back home in the late evening that place never fails to disappoint. I arrive at Hurdman at 12:08am. The GPS
screen tells me 12 minutes which coincides nicely with the last bus sheduled to depart at 12:21
The GPS ticker went down to 9 minutes and stayed there. I am watching bus after bus roll in and out of the station and none of them are mine. I also see many 97s go by which I could easily take and walk from South Keys. But I persist. Surely they won't cancel the last run of a night? RIGHT? Surely.. with the run still posted on the screen it's going to show up right? RIGHT?
I suppose I foolishly waited nearly an hour and eventually flagged down a driver (I've done this before) and asked if he could be a champ and get on the radio to dispatch and tell me what the story is with the 90. He radios and says.. well the last bus left at 12:26. It did not. I've been here the whole time at the night stop. He just kind of shrugs. Fair enough. Dispatch doesn't even know where the bus is. Par for the course?
So at this point I just jump on the next 97(shoutout to 1am 97s btw. That thing got me to SK in like.. 10 minutes
) At this point I am more annoyed with myself that I didn't just jump on the last 3 or 4 97s that the little birdy on my shoulder was telling me to do.
It's all good. I got my Ipod.. tunes are bumping, 15 minute walk from SK to my place.
HERE IS THE KICKER!!!!
As I walk up to the entrance to my parking lot... guess what FING bus rolls by the exact stop I would use. At 1:45 am! Roughly speaking that is an hour after its sheduled time. This is the last bus of the night!! I had to laugh at the irony... while I also audibly cursed that passing bus to hell and back while the driver looked strangely at this man shaking his fist in the night.
I'm not sure how a single last bus of the night can be an hour late with dispatch also having no answer. If OC ever needs to wonder why people have become so disillusioned with their service, its crap like this that totally falls outside of .. I dunno.. expected delays or a reasonable understanding that not everything is perfect?
I'm somewhat young.. able bodied.. I really enjoy walking.. I have a bicycle.. I have money for Uber.. I have a DL.. I have a vehicle. Don't jerk me around OC. I am more than happy to chill on the bus after a night out with my Ipod, staying safe and legal and also saving money on an Uber.
That being said.. Guess what I took home with a friend from the Dominion Tavern last night. $19. door to door in 15 mins. Transit fare for two is $7.30? Your're on thin ice OC!
Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
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