It is hard to believe that the transit strike affecting the CVRD is now entering its fourth month with no end in sight.
It is also difficult to accept that the sole response of B.C. Transit, an agency charged with the delivery and service of transportation throughout the province, to this crisis, has been a stock expression of regret for the "inconvenience" to its customers. The company "Transdev", currently under contract to B.C. Transit for CVRD operations, has consistently refused to meet employees' conditions regarding bathroom breaks and pay equity with bus drivers in the Victoria area. When will B.C. Transit, a Crown corporation, admit to the failure of this arrangement, and assume control of the situation?
Moreover, where do our MLAs, Debra Toprowski, Cowichan Valley, and Dana Lajeunesse, Juan de Fuca-Malahat (including Shawnigan, Mill Bay, and Cobble Hill), stand on this issue? Public transportation is primarily a provincial responsibility. We hope they address this matter soon as so many citizens — already facing hardships due to poverty, age, poor health, and incapacitated or disadvantaged in some way — have been suffering without transit for far too long.
The fact that all residents of B.C. deserve a decent standard of transportation, not just those who are physically and financially able to drive and afford personal vehicles, appears to have escaped their attention.
Mary Desmond
Shawnigan Lake
