15 Minutes or it's free

At the St. Thomas Transit Open House at City Hall on August 11, one of my recommendations was to give an incentive to transit riders by making a rule where if the bus is 15 minutes (or more) late for their stop, the ride is free.

Today, I had to take St. Thomas Transit for my journey to and from the St. Thomas Elgin-General Hospital.

The odds were quite good that the bus would be at least 15 minutes late, due to the detour on First Ave., and the detour on Fifth Ave.

Alas, had their been a "15 minutes or it's free" rule in effect today, I would not have received a free ride, for the bus was only 14 minutes late. Yes, I timed it.

14 minutes behind schedule is not a good thing, but considering the detours the Hospital bus had to make, it was understandable.

If my suggestion were to be implemented, just how many free rides would St. Thomas Transit have to give out?

Well, let's see. St. Thomas Transit operates from Monday to Saturday, which is six days a week. That's 312 days per year (I know, some are holidays, but this is just a rough estimate).

If St. Thomas Transit were to have a 99% on-time schedule, it would only be behind schedule for a total of 3.12 days per year.

Buses break down, accidents happen, which would probably account for about 3.12 days per year.

As St. Thomas Transit now has an extra bus available, if a bus on route were to have a break down or accident, that spare bus could be dispatched to the transfer point to keep the buses on schedule.

It will be interesting to see what is presented before Council in regards to the future of St. Thomas Transit. I am looking forward to continued improvements for St. Thomas Transit.

Joe