11-25-2023, 10:52 AM
(11-25-2023, 07:14 AM)danbrotherston Wrote:(11-24-2023, 05:30 PM)Acitta Wrote: Transit users are not suddenly going to be able to afford a car because of a day of bad weather.
I am going to assume in good faith that you mean that people who do not have any other options should not have their plans disrupted rather than that transit won't lose riders because the only people riding transit are those with no choice, and address that point.
Yes, we should try to meet the needs of people, and people should not be disadvantaged by riding transit. But weather affects travel. We can do things to minimize this disruption, but our society should also do more to accommodate it.
One of the many things I will not forgive UW for is making me drive in through a blizzard to the UW building for an interview at 8:30 am. The interviewers had the sense not to come in, but I was told I would be kicked out of co-op if I did the smart thing. But the fact is, many people who DID try to come in that day did not make it, many people were in the ditch on the side of the road as I was driving in. I don't know if anyone died, but it's not impossible, or even unlikely.
So yeah, weather affects travel. The problem I have is when we're looking at a tiny amount of freezing rain, when everyone else, buses, cars, even people walking, seem to be able to manage, and our LRT is shut down because we refuse to invest in proper maintenance....but if buses can't get through the roads which are maintained as well as we can possibly manage because they are primarily used by cars and our society prioritizes cars above everything else, well then I'm quite content to say that it is reasonable that there will be disruptions.
It is unreasonable to expect to be able to travel during a winter blizzard as easily as it is to travel on a sunny summer day. It is unreasonable for employers to act as if it is. You have to expect that some days you are going to be late or that it is better to stay home.