Listen up, Winnipeg Transit

It’s time to make real improvements for bus riders

LIAM BRENNAN

Winnipeg Transit recently announced the introduction of audio P.A. systems on all city buses. While this is an important improvement to our local transit system, I cannot help but think that the more than $3-million price-tag placed on this venture would be better spent in other transit-related areas.

Granted, the system will be a welcome addition for vision-impaired riders and tourists travelling on our buses. It will make transit a more relaxing and worry-free experience for individuals attempting to find a location they have never been to. Having each individual stop clearly announced for all riders to hear is a necessity.

The question that remains is, why can’t the drivers announce the stops themselves?

For the vast majority of my childhood right through to my years in university, I travelled on city transit buses every week. Although I always knew where I was going, there was usually a tourist or newcomer to the transit system that would restlessly waver beside the yellow line, anxiously glancing out the windows in the hopes that they would find their destination. Generally these people would ask the bus driver to point a certain location out to them when it came around and the driver would do so.

About 98 per cent of the time the drivers could not bring themselves to say anything other than “All the way to the back, please” to riders. But that other two per cent of the time, if you were lucky, the driver would actually announce each stop and point of interest through his or her microphone. Should I have been lucky enough to have one of these talkative drivers while I was unsure where I was going, an instant feeling of relief would settle in as I clambered into the tattered, leather seats.

So why then can’t today’s transit drivers announce each upcoming stop on the current audio systems on the bus? While many will argue that this simple act could take their focus and attention away from the road, I believe that having this responsibility will keep the drivers alert and attentive to their surroundings. Anyone that has ever had a tedious and repetitive job such as that of a transit driver will attest to how easy is to fall into a daydream out of sheer boredom.

But instead the city is paying to have a computer installed purely to tell us where we are going. This system will not allow riders to reach their destinations any faster or more conveniently. This system will not update riders on traffic delays, giving them a more appropriate route to take to avoid backups. This system will simply tell you where you are while riding the bus, something that should be left to the drivers to do.

The money being put into this project could easily have gone toward a new rapid transit system for Winnipeg. But that idea was scrapped by our city council some time ago. It would be interesting to know just how many city counselors actually ride the bus to work each and every day. If they did, perhaps they would realize that there are far greater problems plaguing the Winnipeg Transit system.

They might find that simply trying to phone the directory to find out bus timetables is a process so grueling and annoying that it makes you want to call a taxi instead. Perhaps this money could have gone toward a state of the art system that would easily allow callers to find out exactly what time their bus is arriving and where it can take them.

They might also find that while many city buses have been upgraded to low-rise, “kneeling” vehicles, there are still many outdated buses still clambering down our roads. Perhaps the city should update all of its buses first, as there would be no reason to throw money into a new audio system on one of the many old-timer buses.

But these things will continue to go unnoticed by the city, which will spend the money on the new announcing system instead. Having recently graduated from university, I am pleased that I will not be requiring the services of the Winnipeg Transit system at any time in the near future. And as a former student, I can honestly say that a rapid transit solution would have been a more welcome improvement, and one that may actually get students to school on time every day, something I was not always able to do.

Liam Brennan is a Winnipeg writer.





Volume 95 Issue 3	The Official University of Manitoba Students' Newspaper Website	August 22, 2007

Home About Us Advertising Rates Contact Staff Current Issue PDF Employment Letters to the Editor Meet the Staff Online Archives Volunteer Online Classifieds St. Vincent's Academy Diaries	Font Size Respond Email Print-Friendly Listen up, Winnipeg Transit It’s time to make real improvements for bus riders LIAM BRENNAN Winnipeg Transit recently announced the introduction of audio P.A. systems on all city buses. While this is an important improvement to our local transit system, I cannot help but think that the more than $3-million price-tag placed on this venture would be better spent in other transit-related areas. Granted, the system will be a welcome addition for vision-impaired riders and tourists travelling on our buses. It will make transit a more relaxing and worry-free experience for individuals attempting to find a location they have never been to. Having each individual stop clearly announced for all riders to hear is a necessity. The question that remains is, why can’t the drivers announce the stops themselves? For the vast majority of my childhood right through to my years in university, I travelled on city transit buses every week. Although I always knew where I was going, there was usually a tourist or newcomer to the transit system that would restlessly waver beside the yellow line, anxiously glancing out the windows in the hopes that they would find their destination. Generally these people would ask the bus driver to point a certain location out to them when it came around and the driver would do so. About 98 per cent of the time the drivers could not bring themselves to say anything other than “All the way to the back, please” to riders. But that other two per cent of the time, if you were lucky, the driver would actually announce each stop and point of interest through his or her microphone. Should I have been lucky enough to have one of these talkative drivers while I was unsure where I was going, an instant feeling of relief would settle in as I clambered into the tattered, leather seats. So why then can’t today’s transit drivers announce each upcoming stop on the current audio systems on the bus? While many will argue that this simple act could take their focus and attention away from the road, I believe that having this responsibility will keep the drivers alert and attentive to their surroundings. Anyone that has ever had a tedious and repetitive job such as that of a transit driver will attest to how easy is to fall into a daydream out of sheer boredom. But instead the city is paying to have a computer installed purely to tell us where we are going. This system will not allow riders to reach their destinations any faster or more conveniently. This system will not update riders on traffic delays, giving them a more appropriate route to take to avoid backups. This system will simply tell you where you are while riding the bus, something that should be left to the drivers to do. The money being put into this project could easily have gone toward a new rapid transit system for Winnipeg. But that idea was scrapped by our city council some time ago. It would be interesting to know just how many city counselors actually ride the bus to work each and every day. If they did, perhaps they would realize that there are far greater problems plaguing the Winnipeg Transit system. They might find that simply trying to phone the directory to find out bus timetables is a process so grueling and annoying that it makes you want to call a taxi instead. Perhaps this money could have gone toward a state of the art system that would easily allow callers to find out exactly what time their bus is arriving and where it can take them. They might also find that while many city buses have been upgraded to low-rise, “kneeling” vehicles, there are still many outdated buses still clambering down our roads. Perhaps the city should update all of its buses first, as there would be no reason to throw money into a new audio system on one of the many old-timer buses. But these things will continue to go unnoticed by the city, which will spend the money on the new announcing system instead. Having recently graduated from university, I am pleased that I will not be requiring the services of the Winnipeg Transit system at any time in the near future. And as a former student, I can honestly say that a rapid transit solution would have been a more welcome improvement, and one that may actually get students to school on time every day, something I was not always able to do. Liam Brennan is a Winnipeg writer.


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