Public transit a needed service

It is fascinating to compare the hardship among those going without public transit with those who have never had it.
The protracted labour dispute that has kept buses off the roads and further snarled traffic in HRM has hurt people. Having no such service in Pictou County has also hurt people.
Those who cannot or choose not to drive are left without in HRM and here. They may be young or old, students or retirees, well or infirm. But they show us how a service denied or withheld impacts people. We rarely hear about them because they suffer in silence.
It is past time to give these people hope in Pictou County, to give them a sense of ownership and mobility those of us who drive take for granted.
Public transportation is one of those things that elevate a community and make it whole.
The extremes among public transit service in Canada in many ways reflect the gap between rich and poor. No city can rival Montreal’s subway system for the ability to traffic across an urban centre at great speed, completely sheltered from the elements. The decision to put it all underground was expensive, yet the trains running on tires are quiet, clean and free from extreme heat and cold that would otherwise age them faster.
Toronto is debating whether to spend a whole lot of money on one underground subway route or spread it around so that more people can access light-rail trains. Again, allowing more people with an option they’ve never had tips the scales toward LRT.
People have complained about Halifax’s bus service. A tunnel under the harbour has been considered when more ferries might be more desirable and far less expensive.
We have a pent-up clientele longing for a safe, reliable, well-marketed transit service here. Our communities are working hard to offer people more things to do and places to go. How they get there is a missing piece of the puzzle.
Local and provincial groups are asking those living here and elsewhere in Nova Scotia to complete a survey on public transportation. The survey is a worthy exercise that has the potential to awaken people to the possibility and the need for increased public transportation.
It is an essential service in any community that claims compassion, vision and resourcefulness.
Steve Goodwin