First things First

Let me get this straight. I love the GRT. Without this essential service I would not have made it this far living on my own in Waterloo. For the most part their drivers are friendly and personable people and the buses tend to be respectably clean and operative. BUT in so many increasing cases, I'm finding myself stranded, unhappy and (freezing) cold.

Many instances I've missed the bus, only to realize that I was more than early enough to catch it. Many times I've waited an extra 8-10 minutes for a late bus, only to get to my destination late. Have I ever gotten there early? It's not something I can recall.

Not to forget the fact that there's a lot wrong with this service, but that I find myself scrambling to get to the stop 5-8 minutes early so that I will not miss it. The bus is rarely on time. Other issues I find myself turning over in my head is the sheer lack of bus service to certain parts of the city including the under-serviced high traffic zones.

I'd like to show the people in Waterloo Region, namely those who turned down the LRT option, how busy the iXpress is during rush times. How FILLED a 7C IS, ALL THE TIME.... how busy the 12, the 7, and especially the 9 are almost all the time. I have NEVER been able to sit down on a 9 at any point during the day. Ever.

How can we stop moving forward with other transit options when our current one is failing? The money won't likely go to GRT to add buses on the roads, this is not our best option. Clearly there needs to be a solution for the mainline so that essential budget can go to where it's needed: by adding buses to parts of the city without transit and to add buses to parts that need them.

As someone who regularly takes the bus (in the summer I chose not to simply to enjoy the weather) and lives in Northdale, I have little option to get to a stop other than taking a 7B/7E from Columbia which only comes every half hour on weekdays until 6pm.

Need I mention it doesn't run on weekends? If it weren't for the late night loop (which again, only runs every hour) I wouldn't have a way home some nights. And don't even MENTION the Sunday bus system... We need a consistent, efficient system here, no more of this bureaucratic crap:

I hate to think that a bunch of people who drive everywhere make the decision whether busing gets adequate funding and what routes get improvements.

Now do you see why I hate being late? It's never my fault. If only I had planned for the bus to be early, or late, or not come at all. If only I had planned to walk a few kilometres so I could be packed into an iXpress so I could get to the Charles Terminal 5 minutes quicker. Oh boy.