OC Transpo user says he was fired from two jobs because of cancelled and late buses
To say transit rider Max Well is frustrated with OC Transpo would be an understatement.
"I was 25 minutes late because three buses didn’t show up," Well said. "I now have lost two jobs because I would show up late for a shift due to reasons out of my control."
Unable to get to work on time and fired, he says, because of unreliable public transit.
"Loblaws was like, 'you aren’t a reliable employee'. And I was like, I’m relying on the buses. I’m doing everything I can."
Despite paying for a monthly pass, Katelynn Cadieux has been forced to turn to Uber on occasion. She’s also upset there isn’t more warning from OC Transpo when a route has been cancelled.
"In the past two weeks it’s happened three times," says Cadieux. "It’s just when these flukes kind of happen and they don’t say anything about it, it gets really frustrating. When they know the bus isn’t coming but they just don’t say or announce it anywhere."
Hundreds of trips have been cancelled in part because of a new mandatory 30-minute break for drivers. OC Transpo is now on a hiring binge.
"So the half-an-hour break has obviously created more work, because you need the coverage for that half an hour break," says Clint Crabtree, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279 President. "And so therefore, with the coverage needed, you don’t have enough operators to cover the amount of work that’s put out there now."
Transit user Fatima Nabbus was told to leave a bus that wasn’t completing a route. She had to get off and call an Uber to get to work on time.
"There was one time where I got on the bus, it was on time, until we got to the station and he said, sorry the route is over now, we aren’t going to go all the way," says Nabbus. "I assume he had to go on a break. So there was no one to take over for him at the station so he said sorry the route is cancelled now."
OC Transpo says it hopes to hire nearly 300 more drivers this year, but it will take time.
Too late for Max Well.
"OC Transpo played a role in my work seeing me as irresponsible," says Well. "Despite me doing everything I can. It’s not like I could do anything about it."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Air France flight from Paris to Seattle lands in Iqaluit after heat smell in cabin
A plane travelling from Paris to Seattle was forced to make an emergency landing in Iqaluit after there was a heat smell in the cabin during the flight.