Grand River Transit

[danbrotherston]

So first of all, this is not true, infections have been very rare on public transit vehicles. Ventilation per cubic meter is quite good, and since people are sitting and not generally eating or talking boisterously (or moistly) it's actually a fairly safe environment. Masks are still important but you're much more likely to be infected in a bar, not my opinion, the data shows this.

And yes, idiots who ride transit but refuse to wear a mask are idiots, and they are annoying.

But it is also the case that transit riders are being targeted for enforcement in a way that the public is not. I also don't think people should ride transit without paying a fare, but I vehemently disagree with enforcing fare payment far in excess of the same crime (not paying ~3.5 for a public good) when committed by people who happen to commit said crime while driving a car.

I'm not going to address the issue of fare enforcement, but if we're going to rely on laws to keep people safe, I'd rather be in a population with high enforcement. I'd rather have buses with strict enforcement of mask bylaws, I'd rather have the sidewalks in my neighbourhood have strict enforcement of snow-clearing bylaws, and I'd rather have the streets in my neighbourhood have strict enforcement of traffic laws. If that means that others who choose not to comply with the law suffer, then they are getting what they deserve. If the purpose of the law is something other than safety I wouldn't feel the same, but in all those cases I would rather have high enforcement than low enforcement, even if it is specifically targeted at a population I am a member of.

(I'd like it even more if the problems could be addressed through non-regulatory approaches like vaccines, municipal snow clearing and safer street designs, but those don't seem to be on the table.)

I am not saying I disagree.

I am saying inequal enforcement is intended to reinforce existing inequities in our society.