Raven's View

Our mayor has been riding various express bus routes - supposedly to learn first hand what the issues are. I sent the following in to the local paper, hopefully it will get included in the letters to the editor n the subject. There have been several so far:

Photo-ops on the buses
Looks like the only transparency in council these days is in the Mayor's motives. Faced with more bad press over criminal charges, unpopular policies, indiscreet assistants, etc. seems that his promoters have decided it's time to ride the buses, to talk with the common people, to pretend that our councilors all really care about those that choose (or have to) take public transit. Tuesday's photo in the Citizen shows him relaxing and chatting on a bus coming in from the west, as the photographer backs up to capture the moment - where are the crowds? Did they have to wait for the next bus in order to make room for the royal entourage?
If council wants to really show concern, and maybe even learn, I suggest that for a full week they all take nothing but public transit. No limos, no cars, no cabs, just the buses. If there’s a downtown meeting after 6, and the councilor is from the far reaches of a Kanata suburb, then they will need to leave early. Have them call in and find out when their bus is, have them try to get feedback from OC Transpo on an issue. And while they’re at it, make sure they have a clipboard and questionnaire, so that they can do more than smile and reassure all that this is their highest priority. Have them collect some real feedback to present back to each other, and to city staff.