Sunday, January 27, 2008

Privatize SaskTransit NOW!

I am not a proponent of privatization as a general rule but Sask Transit should be privatized NOW. It’s the only way to remedy what is possibly the worst run crown corporation I have ever seen.

The busses are empty all the time, the busses are old and dilapidated, and they run so infrequently the service is a joke. They jack up the prices by more than anywhere else I have seen at one time. And what the hell do they put in those bus cushions? Don Acheson’s back hair? God those seats are uncomfortable. I swear Sask Transit doesn’t want you to ride the bus. The downtown bus exchange is the poorest and most dangerous one I have ever seen—it’s like dodgeball trying to catch a bus but not get run over! The company can’t even sell advertising on the busses to companies. Last time I rode the bus, they had one company with the same advertisement plastered about ten times in the inside of the bus. And there was space for other advertisers still left! Plus, the other signs inside the busses—there’s about a million telling riders what to NOT do, like crucial things like don’t spit sunflower shells in the bus—look like they were written by a fifth grader and are full of typos and grammatical errors.

I can tell this is a horrible company to work for too. Most drivers are a miserable bunch of unhelpful bastards. Drivers don’t stop for you and will often hassle people over anything no matter how small. They won’t wait for you if you want on and they’re about to leave. I’ve seen drivers yelling at pedestrians crossing the street, pedestrians who have the right of way! The bus driver didn’t bother to see if anyone was crossing the street before making a left turn and then blamed a pedestrian for his own ignorance. One time I saw a bus miss a turn and try to back up in the middle of the street… he drove right into a car behind him. These transit drivers are a bloody hazard! Don’t believe me? Last year transit drivers made the news when one driver ran over someone downtown and another was involved in a major collision on Clarence. I guess these guys missed the part of driving lesson where they tell you to check both ways before stepping on the gas.

Sask Transit management should visit ANY other metropolitan center in Canada to see how public transit should be run.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

last year a bus ran into a house on the east side (I don't know how you hit a house?) and this year one ran over an elderly lady at confed mall, they have problems.

p.s I love your blog!

Anonymous said...

I'm in favor of privitazation, when it is proven the private sector can do a better job than the public sector, which is almost always. Corruption, laziness, incompetence and greed is typical of many public sector employees, who are fed at the trough of taxpayer dollars. Government shouldn't only be in charge of services that benefit everyone (i.e. health, education, military, police, fire department, justice system, social services), but they should stay out of running businesses, an area they are clearly incompetent in. You want proof, look at the lame attempts by the SaskNDP. The SaskNDP has no idea how to compete in the business world, and when they screw up, the taxpayers have to bail them out for their incompetence.