Editor, The News:
Re: Ruimy doesn’t see train in future (The News, Jan. 18).
The Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge-Mission MP is missing the much larger part of the problem, as is Maple Ridge Mayor Nicole Read.
Yes, the West Coast Express may have its share of delays, some of which are quite long. But it’s those delays merely 10-15 minutes or less, which are causing complete frustration among the regular riders.
The underlying reason is lack of simple communication and Translink’s inability to adhere to its vision, mission and values ...
The way a 10-minute delay stings the most is that once the train arrives at the Port Haney Station, the wait time for the bus is usually five minutes.
This means that when the train finally arrives 10 minutes late, the empty bus has just left, leaving all those passengers who pay $244 a month for this service, standing in the rain, the cold, the snow, not knowing when the next bus is going to arrive to get them home to their families.
To add to this frustration, the next WCE train will arrive before the next bus does.
This means that when the bus does finally show, it can only accommodate 24 people. However, there are over 40 people in line.
This means that another group of people who had their WCE train free of delay, now must wait at least another 30 minutes, in the rain, snow and cold, for the next bus.
Those who are left in line because the bus cannot accommodate them are always calling TransLink customer service to complain, but it is obviously falling on deaf ears because nothing has changed.
This 10-minute WCE delay ends up being a 40-minute delay by the time the bus arrives.
As we all stand here in the rain awaiting the next bus, TransLink has obviously failed because an empty bus had left the station 5-10 minutes prior to the train arriving, completely ignorant to all those who are just looking to get home after a long day.
I don’t know if I would call that a results-oriented practice or way of doing business.
TransLink can’t make simple communication with the WCE team to determine if the train is going to be late and how it will ensure those riders will get home.
What do the bus drivers think when they decide to just leave before the train arrives?
Do they think we’re just going to magically get home by clicking our heals together?
We pay $3,000 a year of our after-tax income to utilize these services and we expect a much higher quality than TransLink has been delivering.
Mr. Ruimy and Mrs. Read, perhaps you should begin to put some focus here and help to bring attention to the lack of logical thought among those who lead the TransLink bus operations and their drivers, who have forgotten what they do for a living, which is to drive people home.
Justin Linebaugh
Maple Ridge