Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Are you fucking kidding me? Today's Delay Excuse is doors and signals. Doors and signals. Really? If you're going to placate us, at least come up with a more creative excuse.

I did something I've said I've always wanted to do. I got on the eastbound train going to Oshawa and stayed on it until it went back to Toronto. I was surprised how many other people did the same thing. There were at least two people in every quad when we got to Oshawa. And none of them got off. By the time we got to Whitby, it was standing room only. Pickering was shoulder to shoulder.

I have to admit, I was a little smug sitting in my window seat.

GO Transit had the balls to make announcements at Ajax, telling people to take the bus to Pickering to catch the train that departed from that station. Which, it turns out, was also delayed. 

Use your head, GO Transit How many people fit on a train? Do you really believe the same number of people will fit on a bus? This isn't a Rowling novel where the vehicles are miraculously larger inside. This is the real world. Real people, with real jobs, who are in real trouble because your system failed. Our bosses don't give a shit that we're late because the transit system sucks. Our bosses are screaming at us because we're almost two hours late for work and they have a deadline.

To add insult to injury, the United Way was screaming at the station, jangling their money cans (that wasn't a euphemism, by the way, though it might increase donations). Even if I had intended to drop a few coins in the bucket, I wouldn't have because GO Transit pissed me off so much. I wasn't exactly feeling charitable this morning. I wonder how many others felt the same way.

And even better...I received a GO Survey. "Tell us what you think of GO’s station web pages".  Oh, I'll tell you what I think, alright, but you may not want to hear it.