OC Transpo user says he was fired from two jobs because of cancelled and late buses

To say transit rider Max Effectively is pissed off with OC Transpo could be an understatement.

"I used to be 25 minutes late as a result of three buses didn’t present up," Effectively stated. "I now have misplaced two jobs as a result of I might present up late for a shift as a result of causes out of my management."

Unable to get to work on time and fired, he says, due to unreliable public transit.

"Loblaws was like, 'you aren’t a dependable worker'. And I used to be like, I’m counting on the buses. I’m doing every little thing I can."

Regardless of paying for a month-to-month move, Katelynn Cadieux has been pressured to show to Uber from time to time. She’s additionally upset there isn’t extra warning from OC Transpo when a route has been cancelled.

"Prior to now two weeks it’s occurred 3 times," says Cadieux. "It’s simply when these flukes form of occur they usually don’t say something about it, it will get actually irritating. Once they know the bus isn’t coming however they simply don’t say or announce it anyplace."

A whole lot of journeys have been cancelled partly due to a brand new necessary 30-minute break for drivers. OC Transpo is now on a hiring binge.

"So the half-an-hour break has clearly created extra work, since you want the protection for that half an hour break," says Clint Crabtree, Amalgamated Transit Union Native 279 President. "And so due to this fact, with the protection wanted, you don’t have sufficient operators to cowl the quantity of labor that’s put on the market now."

Transit consumer Fatima Nabbus was informed to go away a bus that wasn’t finishing a route. She needed to get off and name an Uber to get to work on time.

"There was one time the place I obtained on the bus, it was on time, till we obtained to the station and he stated, sorry the route is over now, we aren’t going to go all the way in which," says Nabbus. "I assume he needed to go on a break. So there was nobody to take over for him on the station so he stated sorry the route is cancelled now."

OC Transpo says it hopes to rent practically 300 extra drivers this yr, however it would take time. 

Too late for Max Effectively.

"OC Transpo performed a task in my work seeing me as irresponsible," says Effectively. "Regardless of me doing every little thing I can. It’s not like I may do something about it."