Letter re GO Transit

I have yet to actually send this letter to anyone and chances are good that I will never actually send this but here it is for your enjoyment anyhow. Feel free to recommend any changes and hopefully I will find someone to send this letter to and get it done. Once again I have proved that I am a thinker not a doer. I get these great(?) ideas but never act on them. Maybe someday I will change this but I won't be holding my breath for this to occur.

For years it has been the government’s objective to reduce carbon monoxide emissions from vehicles by promoting car pooling and public transportation. The Federal government has even gone so far as to give monthly commuters a tax break for their part in reducing harmful emissions (and as an incentive for others to start commuting). In the greater Toronto area, a lot of people work in downtown Toronto and rely heavily on GO Transit to get to and from work. For many of these commuters, any service disruption is not just an inconvenience but it results in lost income or added expenses to them while GO Transit escapes without having to reimburse these riders for the lack of service.

Infrequent delays are understandable and can be overlooked but riders should not have to accept frequent service disruptions like the ones during the period of June 4, 2007 to June 15, 2007. During that brief period there were daily delays and even some cancellations affecting almost all rail corridors GO Transit services. I understand that some of these disruptions were caused by events for which GO Transit had no control over (i.e. police investigations and inclement weather) but other disruptions were caused by events that GO Transit referred to as “equipment problems” (see attached email). GO Transit needs to be held accountable for service disruptions caused by the inadequate maintenance of their trains.

As much as public transit needs to be extended, the need to improve the services currently offered is greater. More needs to be done to try to ensure service schedules are followed and disruptions are kept to a minimum. I am asking you to investigate this situation and bring this topic to the attention of all others who can help. GO Transit riders are supporting the government’s green initiative and do not deserve to be taken advantage of. Please do what you can to ensure GO Transit is held accountable for avoidable service disruptions.