Etiquette NO-GOs
July 27, 2024
Perhaps to fill time during the summer months or just as another way to justify their high-paying jobs, the spin doctors at Metrolinx have come up with a new ad campaign. Etiquette NO-GOs, they call it. Everyone deserves to ride comfortably on GO Transit, they say. Let’s do our part to be kind, courteous and avoid etiquette NO-GOs.
Sounds great, doesn’t it?
And to be fair, some of the points they raise are indeed valid. Keeping your feet off the seats. Observing the Quiet Zone during the rush hour. And not hogging seats with your bags.
But Metrolinx isn’t innocent in all of this. They are just as guilty of poor etiquette as some of their obnoxious and unruly passengers.
No Cash on the Bus
Years ago, Metrolinx used the war as a convenient excuse to stop accepting cash on buses. In some respects, it was welcome. There were painful delays as people sorted out cash. Yet they gave people little alternative as only in recent months have they added ticket machines along the #12 route that serves Niagara. Even the much-used stop at 420 & Stanley in Niagara Falls was without a ticket machine until last year. Only recently have they added machines at the Niagara College and Confederation GO stops, and there are still no machines at Grimsby and Beamsville. The next time Metrolinx wants to implement a groundbreaking policy change, they need to stop acting like East German border guards. Shoot and ask questions later.
No Bikes in the Luggage Compartment
Metrolinx likes to brag about how bike-friendly they are. And for years, they were. When the racks on buses were full, passengers were more than welcome to store their bikes in the luggage compartment. I’ve seen it many times myself. Until they stopped allowing it without any explanation or notice to that effect. So as the push to transition away from gas-guzzling cars to more environmentally friendly modes of transportation only increases, Metrolinx pushes back in the opposite direction.
Unclean Buses
In fairness, I can’t say this is a major problem, but too often I’ve boarded a bus at Fairview Mall early in the morning only to find trash from the previous day still on the seats. Rotten apple cores. Food wrappers. During the war, Metrolinx constantly lectured us on keeping good hygiene practices, but too often they failed that test themselves.
Sadly, I suspect these points won’t make it to their ad campaign.
Because as always, it’s about making themselves look good. Not about serving passengers.
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