Basic Civility

Ottawa's transit strike has finally ended.

Of course, it'll be two months before service returns to anything approaching normal.

And I fully expect to see a surge in bike commuting and walking to work as soon as the snow melts. Not to mention the huge number of people who are just going to stick to their cars, thereby setting back the cause of public transit in Ottawa by at least a decade.

This has been a frustrating couple of months for the residents of Ottawa. It's cost us thousands of dollars apiece and countless hours of our time (one of the reasons this blog pretty much went dark for the duration is that I was spending most of my blogging time sitting in traffic or running around the city to get friends and family where they needed to be). I know I'm one of the lucky ones -- I had the resources to get myself to work (however inconvenient and expensive it was), and an employer who was understanding when the traffic meant I arrived an hour later than usual. A lot of people were not so fortunate. The pain inflicted on the people of this city by the combined forces of the union and city council is real, and severe, and both sides should be ashamed.

But you know who else should be ashamed? The hostile, vindictive commentators who've been advocating nastiness directed at the returning bus drivers.

Here's a sample of the comments to this article about the end of the strike:

I encourage you all to give the bus drivers attitude when you hop on the bus! Give them a piece of your mind!!

The greedy fools will probably expect a basket of fresh baked cookies. They've got something else coming!!!!!!!

I was hoping this would go longer and the union would go bust.
Yeah i will make cookies for them, with ex lax in them.
And i hope some people cause them lts of grief and show no respect.
back to work you bums.

Remember your anger and your outrage, bus-riding citizens of Ottawa, when regular service resumes. Remember the lack of sympathy and the cocky smirks from this grotesque mockery of a union

Remember, this strike was supposedly about "respect". They have shown us NONE, and that is precisely what they should receive in return! Pay your fare in pennies if you have to!

They deserve everything that will inevitably come their way.

Classy, no?

And there are plenty more where that came from. People making veiled threats about how drivers will have their backs turned to angry commuters... or suggesting that commuters vent their feeling upon the first driver they encounter.

That's not even to mention the folks who, demonstraing a complete lack of understanding of labour laws, have been screaming "fire the bums" from day one of the strike, and are still screaming it to anyone who will listen.

I have to wonder if anyone ever taught these folks basic manners or how to control their anger. Acceptable outlets for transit-related frustration include writing letters to Larry O'Brien, city council, André Cormellier, and anyone else you can think of. You can even make a sign and picket whatever public location you like. But taking your frustration out on the drivers just isn't okay. They're just trying to do their job. They're going to get you to your destination safely. The least you owe them is some common courtesy.

The Ballad of Larry O.

In Ottawa, Ontario
A city justly famed,
A man called Larry came to try
And play polit'cal games.

Refrain:
Sing hey-down-derry for Larry O, Larry
Confident, certain, and true
"If I can run a business, I
Can run a city too!"

He said, "I think that I'll be mayor,"
And set about to win.
But did he say "Kilrea, retire,
And I'll get you somethin'"?

(Refrain)

He told the people all forlorn,
"No taxes will you pay!
"For I'm a businessman, you see,
"And I've a special way!"

(Refrain)

"I'll keep your services entire,
"Nor cut a single job,
"For business management will save
"You money by the gob!"

(Refrain)

His words were sweet upon their ears
For zero's zero yet.
The right-wing vote belonged to him
No Kilrea ran to split.

(Refrain)

So soon he had the jewels and robe
And rule (not absolute)
The wand of business management
He'd wield to bring us loot.

(Refrain)

He cancelled transit plans because
They weren't quite right, he said.
And then there was a lawsuit raised
Upon the city's head.

(Refrain)

For cities are not businesses
And Larry's magic failed
And soon police investigate
If they should have him jailed.

(Refrain)

For it turns out in politics
You're not supposed to say
To your opponent, "Please withdraw,
"And here's what I can pay."

(Refrain)

But Larry still is resolute,
The city's on his side!
At least his friends and family are,
And some in the wool dyed.

(Refrain)

While zero, it turns out, is not
Quite zero after all.
At least we didn't vote for one
Who'd tax us one and all!

(Refrain)

So what will be our Larry's fate?
It's too soon yet to tell.
But to the end he's resolute
That he has led us well.

(Refrain)

If others disagree, it's that
They're biased against him.
If they don't see our Larry's light,
They must be slightly dim!

(Refrain)

It's also like banging your head against a brick wall, over and over again

Watching Ottawa city council talk about transit planning is like watching an eternal game of ping-pong.

• Expand the O-Train!
• Cancel the contract!
• Build a tunnel!
• Don't build a tunnel!
• Assess possibilities!
• Reject the assessment!
• Buses!
• Trains!
• Cars!

So I'm hard-pressed to put much faith in yet another proposal to improve the transit system in Ottawa.

There's no question the transit system needs improvement, especially in the downtown core. And I'm as big a supporter of transit as anybody. I ride the bus, even when OC Transpo's bizarre scheduling and inability to cope with inclement weather* makes it really annoying to do so. I love the O-Train, and wish it went somewhere useful so I could actually ride it.

But I'm getting awfully cynical about transit plans that seem to get scrapped almost as soon as they're proposed. And hearing Alex Cullen on the radio this morning saying Siemans should just hold off on their lawsuit, because hey, maybe there'll be a new contract soon... forgive me, but if Siemans buys that line, they're way more naive than your average moneymaking corporation.

* due, I understand, to the age of the buses and their state of repair

Promises & Politicians

You know, when we were in the throes of the last municipal election, Larry just kept saying, over and over again, that "zero means zero". The zero, of course, was his promised tax increase -- that's right! he kept telling us, for a limited time only, you too can have no increased tax! Meanwhile, the other candidates for mayor kept pointing out that city services were crumbling, and that the city was pretty much tapped out... and that a small tax increase would likely be required.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Larry's promises won out.

And to the surprise of... well, probably the surprise of his supporters, but certainly not to my surprise, our taxes will be going up.

I must admit, I love how it's a "levy" rather than an "increase". Are we supposed to be fooled?

I'm not, by any stretch of the imagination, a fiscal conservative. I don't think taxes are inherently evil. I'm willing to pay for the many fine services we enjoy in this city, province, and country. So I was never the audience for the "zero means zero" line. But I'm still surprised that people seemed to believe it. People are so convinced that the public service -- municipal, provincial, and federal -- is full of waste that they're willing to believe anyone who says the public sector just needs to be run "more like a business", and that "belt-tightening" will solve all our fiscal woes.

Do you suppose the people of Ottawa will extrapolate from this experience, and maybe be a little less credulous when the next tax-cuttin' politician comes around?

I think not, somehow.