Tentative OC Strike Date. Dec. 10.

[bouche]

The drivers close to retirement did not want to go on strike, so they could pad thier pay checks for thier last few months/years on the job. They had no problem giving up the 6 days when they have 8 weeks of holidays they could use up.

so I'm not the only one that gets sick of people flaunting their banked holidays and sick days. If that is in fact what caused such a shitty deal, that really stinks. There are folks near retirement at TC that have so much banked sick leave and maxed out vacation days that there isn't enough time to take them. Still, those same people will fight tooth and nail to get more leave.

one guy in my office, we'll call "Chee", was complaining about leave in the last dispute and I asked him "how many sick days do you have right now?". He answered something like 9 MONTHS! Along with teh 8 weeks of vacation time, I had to remind him that he has nothing to complain about.

[Gateaux]

Isn't the normal yearly raise for Public employees with the city or gov the 3% to cover cost of living increases, why 3.5%? I don't think anything is outrageous but the overtime thing is a bit silly. I'd have to suck cack over here for someone to actually pay me for overtime worked.

[ollie]

Yup, I used to call. The bus is not "officially" late until there's 5 minutes difference (same with early). When I used to take the 156 it would always be late or early and me and friends missed it constantly so we started calling and the usual response was that it was in some way our fault.

Rule of thumb is to always arrive at the bus stop at least five minutes before it's due to arrive. I've been using public transportation in this city almost my whole life and have never run into a major problem with the buses. Learn the system and make it work for you.

My only real issue with OC Transpo is the people they let on the bus.

[AD]

so if you made more money than the transit workers you'd be ok with the strike?

Nope' date=' since I'd still lose my ride and others who are much poorer than I am will also lose their rides. [/quote']

I added some emphasis to my quote of your original post above. It sounds like one reason you don't agree with the strike because they are making more money and have more benefits than you.

[mattm]

I always arrive about 10 minutes before my bus should arrive if I can help it. My gripe is that the bus will then not arrive on time and it's the transfer that gets screwed up. Ever use the travel planner and it says get off at stop whatever, in 2 minutes get on bus x, blah, blah, blah. Well, that's the window I'm talking about that I keep missing. Local bus 1 arrives late. Big route bus 2 arrives on time. Local bus 1 gets there just after big route bus 2 has left, travel time incremented by time between big bus 2 routes.

AD: It's a massive reason why it angers me, just not the only one and if I was making more, I'd still be mad because it'd be very, very easy to replace me with someone else who works very hard also without as much benefits. Am I jealous? Fuck yeah and does that add to it, hell yeah (I'm hunam).

Edited December 4, 2008 by Guest

[bouche]

Isn't the normal yearly raise for Public employees with the city or gov the 3% to cover cost of living increases, why 3.5%? I don't think anything is outrageous but the overtime thing is a bit silly. I'd have to suck cack over here for someone to actually pay me for overtime worked.

yeah, I don't understand that 12 minute thing. We have to work 37.5 hours/week and I can't imagine trying to screw the system (tax payers) to add an extra 12 minutes/day so I could pull out some extra money for literally doing nothing for an extra 1 hour at time *1.5.

[rubberdinghy]

I'm not saying there's nothing wrong with the scheduling of routes...I routinely run my 116 anywhere from 2-25 late everyday. Nothing I can do about it.

We ask 3.5 so they knock it down to three and we except.

That's why our union rocks Gateaux!!! you know me though...how much overtime do I really work!

[bouche]

That's why our union rocks Gateaux!!! you know me though...how much overtime do I really work!

looks like you're getting paid for 12 minutes/day without doing anything!

[timouse]

My only real issue with OC Transpo is the people they let on the bus.

dude, relax.

[Kanada Kev]

If you think bus drivers have it better off than you by such a large margin, then why not look into what it takes to get a job as a bus driver?

I love hearing people complain that teachers don't work during July and August. If you think it's such a great perk, become a teacher!!!

Doctors make too much money. Wahhhh. Become a friggin' doctor then.

[rubberdinghy]

We get paid by the minute bouche...it's not like I'm pilfering that 12 minutes from tax payers. The route that I chose to do requires that I work 8:12. I do that everyday. Monday to Friday.

Now what they want to do is block my work Monday to Sunday, so I don't get that extra twelve minutes everyday. Monday I may work that 8:12 but then Tuesday I'd have to work 7:48. Now if there is no 7:48 shift available Tuesday to Friday from 11-7, then they'd start pushing me back to 12-8 or 1-9 even 7pm-3am....now if they can't fit me in Tuesday to Friday, they'd start looking at Saturday and Sunday.

Make sense?

[AD]

Kanada Kev just stimulated my economy

[rubberdinghy]

PS....Are you on a break reading the Skank bouche?

[Booche]

Traffic'd

[rubberdinghy]

OH YEAH!

Guess we are paying for you to take the day off eh Mikey-poo!

AHHAHAHHAAHHAHHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[Davey Boy 2.0]

PS....Are you on a break reading the Skank bouche?

nope he's home sick after drinking Coffee Time coffee

[slavetothegroove]

Also, have you ever emailed or called OC Transpo when buses are running late or connections aren't made. That is a big problem, nobody ever does. I see the report of customer complaints monthly. With the amount of daily riders we have, we only ever recieve about 200 unique complaints a months. That's about 4 trips on a packed 95. No wonder things never get changed.

Did I not give you and Steph a free ride the other day

Currently writing an e-mail to Oc Transpo:

Next time there is an event happening at Scotiabank place, please provide more buses! And if I check the website, and phone information to find out the times they will be running, please do your best to provide this service accurately. It is a great inconvenience to have to wait close to an hour, in the cold, after the scheduled times to see only two buses pass by, both so full they couldn't pick up anymore people. There were 20 people or so waiting at my stop for these buses, which was only a fraction of who were probably waiting at the other stops down the line. I understand this happens frequently when events are happening at Scotiabank place, so maybe take this as a sign to add at least one more bus. I was traveling from downtown, so maybe there wasn't an issue from other stops in the city, but please consider that the downtown area buses will be full, and people will be expecting a ride, only to find out after an hour of waiting they won't be getting a bus ride and have to fork over $50.00 for a cab. And yes, I know the 96 goes to Kanata, and could have been an option, but it doesn't go to Scotiabank place so I would have still had to take a cab from Terry Fox. And to someone new to the city, they would have probably no idea about this, and so would then have to call OC Transpo information and wait at least another 15 minutes on hold, which after already being late for the show, wouldn't be much of an option, you'd rather not miss the band(s) you've payed money to see. This doesn't look good on your part, especially to visitors of the city who are relying on your service to get them to their destination. Turns out your not so reliable in these situations.

I'm hoping more people will complain and that something gets done about this. Thank you.

Paying Customer.

And rubberdinghy,thanks for the rides You provide a great service.

[Davey Boy 2.0]

my instinct for ^those situations is to head to HUrdman or wherever those buses start and get on there... you should in theory be able to get a seat to at least somewhat make up for the inconvience

[guigsy]

With the amount of daily riders we have, we only ever recieve about 200 unique complaints a months. That's about 4 trips on a packed 95. No wonder things never get changed.

interesting. you'd think with such a low ratio that they could take the time to communicate with their customers when a complaint does arise. i've sent in 2 complaints and not received a response for either. things dont change because there's no city bus alternative to the OC, so why should they change? dont like it, walk, or get a car - they're still gonna pack the bus, right.

and ollie, c'mon man. your 5 minute system has worked your entire life in this city? wow, whats your magic route?

i've been in this city a year and the bus is NEVER that consistent. in fact, i think the system is incredibly disorganized, and i come from LONDON ONTARIO - home of the worst bus system ever.

anyways, good luck dinghy - maybe if the job gets better for the employers, the system will get better for the riders.

[Davey Boy 2.0]

anyways, good luck dinghy - maybe if the job gets better for the employers, the system will get better for the riders.

Haha, good luck indeed!

[ollie]

and ollie, c'mon man. your 5 minute system has worked your entire life in this city? wow, whats your magic route?

A "rule of thumb" does not apply to all situations. I said I haven't had any "major" problems. I don't consider the occasional late bus to be a major problem.

It's not a perfect system but it has saved me many more times than it has failed me.

You should check out http://community.livejournal.com/octranspo if you want an eye opener into the hassles of being a driver and keeping a bus on time.

[guigsy]

i thought thats what a rule of thumb was? and i guess by "always", what you meant was "sometimes"?

[AWeeJig]

Although I have only been using OCtranspo for a little less than a year now, I have yet to encounter any major issues or been extremely inconvenienced by the service provided.

Being in Kanata I often hop on the 160 to Eagleson Park and Ride to grab the 96 whether it be to Stittsville or Ottawa bound. Not once has the 160 arrived just as the 96 has been pulling out. Also, more than a handful of times I have been on the 96 Kanata bound with my fingers crossed that I have timed it perfectly to catch the 160 at Eagleson Park and Ride. Looking at the time and realizing it is :34 passed the hour and I have likely missed it over the hill on Eagleson, there it is parked, and waiting for the 96 that I am on. I've always been quite pleased with the service and I wish you folks the best in meeting your demands RD.

[ollie]

i thought thats what a rule of thumb was? and i guess by "always", what you meant was "sometimes"?

The rule of thumb says to always show up early but the rule of thumb does not always apply.

Let's let BradM sort it out.

[guigsy]

ok ok - i just wanted to know what your magic route was, because i get fucked by mine everytime i leave the house. i wouldnt consider the occassional late/far too early bus an issue, either - but if you dealt with it at the level of consistency that i do, which you say you havent in a lifetimes worth of bus rides, you'd give your head a scratch, too. sure, every rider on a different route is going to have a different experience.

there's only one rule of thumb for me - go the stop and hope for the best.

now, where's brad?