Some Passengers Skeptical Of GO Transit’s Promise To Keep Service Running If Strike Hits
Posted February 9, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It may not exactly be the news GO Train riders were waiting to hear.
After weeks of enduring delays, cancellations and slower than usual service, its chairman admits that if CN conductors strike and decide to be disruptive on the lines the trains run on, they simply won’t be able to make up for it.
That could leave hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded next week.
But Peter Smith reminds passengers there’s lots of reason for optimism. Negotiations continue towards a midnight strike deadline by the United Transportation Union and CN.
Some of their conductors run the GO Trains on the railway’s lines. But their arguments aren’t with the public transit service, and that’s why they’d previously agreed to keep things running should a walkout take place.
“Should the strike occur … GO service will continue to operate due to an agreement between the union and CN Rail,” Smith vows. “We’re pleased that the union and CN has agreed to maintain the commuter rail service and they understand the importance of continuing train service that is critical to our customers.”
But the agreement includes an out clause – the union reserves the right to pull all those workers if they give 72 hours notice.
And Smith admits if that eventuality comes to pass, his people won’t be able to guarantee everything. There simply aren’t enough buses to make up the difference and if a walkout does affect the service, passengers will be forced to fend for themselves.
“For every train out of service we would need 33 extra buses,” Smith concedes. “Across the system, that’s 1,100 buses. Our customers are very intelligent people and they know there’s no giant bus garage sitting north of Toronto that has 1,100 spare buses.”
But some passengers who have endured endless problems with GO for years remain skeptical about any promises.
“I’ll believe it when I see it and a lot of others are saying the same thing on the trains,” proclaims rider Sharon Ablett. “That they’re just not sure what is going to happen next week.”
GO is working with the TTC and other services to try to shore up whatever support it can if worse comes to worse. But many are already lining up another way to get in just in case.
“[I’m going to] drive downtown and sit on the DVP in traffic, which is no good,” advises Tyler Featherstone.
Riders are urged to monitor weekend events and prepare to make alternate plans – just in case.
The only good news in all this is that with the clause in place, it means they’ll get enough warning – three days – to know what’s coming.
About 150,000 riders around the GTA rely on GO Transit daily to get to work.
The transit service is trying to work through problems it’s had in the past few months, notably in October when trains were only on schedule 82 per cent of the time.
That figure represents GO’s worst month, schedule-wise, in two years.
The numbers rose in November and December to close to 90 per cent of trains leaving on time. GO blamed CN for 35 per cent of its November delays, itself for 22 per cent, and Bombardier, which maintains the trains, for 13 per cent of problems.
The delays have frustrated commuters to no end as they tried to get in and out of the city at rush hour.
To check the GO Transit site for news updates and schedules, click here.
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