taking the bus

Taking a city bus in a poorly serviced area is good to do, at least now and then. I took the train to Ottawa this week, to meet with my research group. The Ottawa train station is a ways from the city centre, and is serviced by a 4-lane divided highway with occasional bus service. I can't really complain too much, the bus comes every 15 minutes, but when it comes it is crowded, and costs $2.75 just for the 10-minute trip into town. On my way back to the train station at the end of my trip, we stopped at a station where lots of people got on, crowding the bus a fair bit near the entrance. When everyone but one black woman had gotten on the bus, the driver shut the door and drove off. I yelled, "you're missing someone!" to which someone yelled back "we're rather full!" It was a huge bus and we could've made more room if the driver had told everyone to move back, but he didn't care and the decision was made. Earlier this year I saw BC Transit authorities in Vancouver telling someone he couldn't take his washing machine on wheels on the Skytrain, 10 at night, with hardly anyone on the train. Presumably, they thought it belonged in the back of his truck. I hate underfunded and uncaring transit systems. They're racist, classist, ableist, etc. etc. They mean real hardship, to real people, every day. They're the result of the better part of a century of all-out government policy and subsidisation in favour of auto transport, ubiquitous advertising of the power, individualism, speed, sexiness, safety, even environmental friendliness of driving. And of course, a fully willing middle class. One of the reasons I don't ever want to own a car is that I don't want to take part in the privelege of ignoring these problems, or bypassing them whenever it's inconvenient. Rant finished, for now.