I’ve been driving vehicles for almost 50 years. During that half century I have not made much use of public transit. When I was a part-time resident of Toronto some years ago, I loved the subway system, but in Winnipeg and Regina I have not ridden many buses.
I have nothing against them, but the ride is all too often very dull. It’s not at all stimulating or entertaining. In Winnipeg, the experience is about to get even duller. City council is being asked to approve a new bylaw telling bus riders how they must behave. Would you believe singing on the bus will no longer be allowed? Failure to follow this rule and others, could result in a fine of a hundred dollars. What brilliant minds came up with this I would love to know.
When we rode the bus as teenagers, decades before iPods or smart phones, some of us carried wondrous devices called transistor radios. When the British invasion took over the airwaves in the 1960’s, we were known to sing along with the Fab Four while riding the bus home from school. Now and then it got a bit boistrous. The driver told us to tone it down. It was all pretty innocent, and it helped to pass the time.
I appreciate that those times have changed. Very bad things can happen in any form of public transit. Driving a bus in any city can be very stressful. Operators have been attacked and seriously hurt by unruly passengers.
The rest of the new rules include a number of basic ‘no brainers’. You can’t carry guns or bombs on board. Consumption of alcohol and drugs will not be tolerated while riding a bus. Spray painting buses or bus shelters will be treated very seriously , indeed it should be.
But please, think it over. Maybe let us hum a few bars once in a while ?
I’m Roger Currie
