Last week mathematicians here at Progressive Winnipeg figured out that Bullshit in Winnipeg goes for the premium price of $0.05 per ride, per year.
And now, thanks to the ingenuity of your Deputy Mayor, Justin Swandel, the price of Bullshit will increase an additional 400% on June 1st of next year. The new premium price of Bullshit at bus stops all across Winnipeg will be $0.25 cents, per ride, per year.
I thought we had money to pay for rapid transit, which is why it was being built? I guess not. Blame the province! (Cue South Park singalong to the melody of "Blame Canada") Well, thanks, Swandel, and your fantastically-thinking cohorts (Sam Katz, Jeff Browaty, Paula Havixbeck, Thomas Steen, Dan Vandal, Russ Wyatt, and Grand Nordman). Hey none of you guys ride the bus, do you? I think you should starting June 1st. When you find out you can't take the bus to City Hall, go to a meeting, then return home on the same transfer slip, I bet you'll do something that makes some sense.
Maybe for your next feat of genius, you can install toll booths on each back lane to pay for repairs. 25 cents each toll. No monthly passes, no weekly passes, no 3 day passes, no casual user passes, and most importantly, no quick just-going-to-the-store-passes. Pass go, pass it again please, and pay another 25 cents, goddammit.
I introduce a new motion to City Hall. Councillors forfeit 400% of their salary for introducing motions to install new user fee-taxes.
9 comments:
If we must pay an extra 10% in fares, I demand the following from Transit:
1. All stops without heated shelters will get one.
2. Transit will develop a Telebus app and text-message service, with delays updated in real time.
3. Buses arrive within two minutes of the promised time, or we pay half. Delays in excess of 10 minutes are free.
4. Automated fare boxes will be installed NOW.
5. "NOT IN SERVICE" buses will drop by 66% at least.
I love it.
Except you forgot one:
6. Double the time a transfer is good for.
1. Why? Perhaps a better idea would be to cut the number of stops in half. People can get off their asses and walk a block.
2. Sounds good. And also keep the delayed buses on the message board
3. You pick that up from Maloway?
4. Sounds good.
5. You have no idea what "not in service" means, do you?
6. Sounds Good
7. Find a way to develop a punch card/tickets that are tax deductible. If someone takes the bus to work for a week a year every day, they can claim that on their taxes, but if someone buys tickets and takes the bus to work 3 days a week, ever week of the year, they can't claim that?
It's absolutely ridiculous, I think Jess has the right set of ideas, particularly about paying reduced fare if your bus is late. They do it for the trains in Tokyo.
Here is the issue, and so far I have not seen the amnesiac mainstream media report on this. I could use some help with the research. Bus fare was $1.85 around 2004 when Sam got in. Then it leapt up to $2.00, an increase of 15 cents. I remember this explicitly as I went to the city committee with a nickel and a dime and said the city is nickel and diming those with the least coin.
At this time Sam publically stated that they would not raise fare more than a nickel again soon. I need help findnig this quote. Two years later it was already forgotten as fare went from $2 to $2.25, I think to start 2008, as we are 15 cents higher now three new year's days later.
And now another 25 cent increase. I think Sam and council want to undermine transit, not improve it, as evidence has shown these increases chase many people away. And what about day passes and $1 add-ons to extend transfers by an hour, for example?
I think the time is past for us to just moan about this. Let's get organized and create a 2 month fare strike, with literature and active agitation and communication with the transit driver's unions starting in January.
email me to start organizing with me. Alon Weinberg, alonolamim@yahoo.ca
The idea of tracking route progress has taken an interesting turn with another bus service - Greyhound.
They do get subsidies and do fall under regulation but have decided not to allow anyone to know if their buses are on time or delayed. You can't even call the depot at the airport because they do not publish a number. And if you do go out there and ask they probably do not know until much later.
I don't see the problem. The people who use the service should pay for the upgrades?
You don't see problem, Jeff?
Here's the problem.
First, bus fares have gone up by nearly a dollar in less than ten years. See my other "bullshit" post for more on why this is bullshit.
Second...you are taxing EVERYBODY who uses Transit. Not the people who are taking the routes that will use rapid transit. No Jeff. You're taxing the people who ride the 11. The 77, 78, 75, the 16. You're taxing the people in North Kildonan, East K, West K, Transcona, you're asking of of THEM to pay for upgrades THE COUNCILLORS AND THE MAYOR STALLED FOR HOWEVER MANY YEARS.
The COUNCILLORS should have to pay for this gross oversight and mismanagement. The councillors who let the figure balloon from $50 during Murray's administration, to whatever the hell it is now. They fucked that up so now it's ALL transit riders who have to pay nearly three bucks to ride the bus?
As Spirited Kenny pointed out to me you need 26 MILLION rides to make the money council is looking for.
Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit.
Left unanswered- or mpore accurately underreported- is the true purpose of the raise.
I saw *somewhere* online that Swandel told Global TV the 6 mill was needed to cover the annual interest cost of the rapid transit loan for the city. If this is true, then why was that unreported everywhere else and it appears, not actually mentioned at the city hall vote?
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