Penticton Public Transit

Dizzy1
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Re: Penticton Public Transit

Post by Dizzy1 »

fall wrote:
You do seem to know a lot about the bus industry for sure, what type of education or skills are required in order to operate a bus aside from the class two drivers license? I realize that there is more to the job as is the case with any job but do not consider being responsible for lives a skill, everyone on the road is responsible for lives when they get behind the wheel. I think that many operators certainly do feel that they are entitled to what they are paid and more, like many employees and jobs. You wouldn't know it by all of the complaints against operators. Do you have any idea how many there are per year (if they keep track or document them). I am not necessarily saying I think they are overpaid for what they do considering garbage truck drivers in the central Okanagan make near that and really any truck driver is earning 20 or more per hour. I would like to see the union dissolved for transit drivers, other professions have started doing away with them.

Most employers require a minimum Grade 12 education (but so do most places), of course your Class 2 with air brakes and a set amount of experience in the industry. Depending on the job market, just like any industry, how much the employer sticks to that changes, other than the legal requirements of course.

Driving a bus vs a car are understandably two different things given the weight, size and maneuverability differences. Its not difficult to learn, anyone can do it. But, when you have a bunch of people sitting/standing behind you, things change dramatically. Its not just your driving you need to focus on, its everyone else on the road that demands your attention. You have to be extremely prepared for anything because you have to keep in mind, the people sitting/standing behind you aren't wearing any seatbelts, so a maneuver you can easily make in a car (hard braking, swerving) can cause serious injuries to your passengers.

On top of that, you need to be in a constant frame of concentration for long periods of times. One agency I worked with, had their drivers drive 12 hours a day with two 15 minute breaks for 4-5 days straight - their drivers were complete wrecks by the end of the week.

Tight schedules make the job even more demanding at times, no time to even go pee. Assaults are on the rise, a few make headlines, but the constant and daily verbal attacks can be brutal on the driver.

While not a physically demanding job, the mental exhaustion can be quite something.

Split *bleep* with very little rest periods in-between also make for a stressful home life.

There are a lot of factors that go into it, and while the skill level may not be the highest, its the demands of the job that make it a lot harder than most people realize.
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fall
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Re: Penticton Public Transit

Post by fall »

Dizzy1 wrote:
There are a lot of factors that go into it, and while the skill level may not be the highest, its the demands of the job that make it a lot harder than most people realize.


Most jobs these days are demanding, even the minimum wage ones.
Dizzy1
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Re: Penticton Public Transit

Post by Dizzy1 »

fall wrote:
Most jobs these days are demanding, even the minimum wage ones.

Absolutely they are, and a lot of them are more demanding than most of us believe they are - which really was the point I was trying to make :)
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twobits
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Re: Penticton Public Transit

Post by twobits »

Dizzy1 wrote:Absolutely they are, and a lot of them are more demanding than most of us believe they are - which really was the point I was trying to make :)


Most jobs are demanding these days. The point I was making was that people that invest in skills and knowledge can and should command a higher wage. Paying fat wages to unskilled labour and minimal qualification jobs provides no incentive to anyone to better themselves and actually advance society in general. Why would anyone go to school or take the time to go through an apprenticeship program if a bus driver letter carrier with squat for investment in the job makes as much or near as much coin?
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Dizzy1
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Re: Penticton Public Transit

Post by Dizzy1 »

twobits wrote:
Most jobs are demanding these days. The point I was making was that people that invest in skills and knowledge can and should command a higher wage. Paying fat wages to unskilled labour and minimal qualification jobs provides no incentive to anyone to better themselves and actually advance society in general. Why would anyone go to school or take the time to go through an apprenticeship program if a bus driver letter carrier with squat for investment in the job makes as much or near as much coin?

And thats why those people make more than bus drivers.

But your point was very clear, they're just unskilled folks with a Grade 10 education who sit in a comfy chair all day.
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twobits
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Re: Penticton Public Transit

Post by twobits »

Dizzy1 wrote:

But your point was very clear, they're just unskilled folks with a Grade 10 education who sit in a comfy chair all day.


I am glad you finally understand. Now we just have to fix it so that kids in high school won't quit going because the taxpayer is subsidizing jobs they can qualify for that pay 40 to 50k per year.
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Dizzy1
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Re: Penticton Public Transit

Post by Dizzy1 »

twobits wrote:
I am glad you finally understand. Now we just have to fix it so that kids in high school won't quit going because the taxpayer is subsidizing jobs they can qualify for that pay 40 to 50k per year.

Then ride the bus more so it doesn't have to be subsidized - simple solution :smt045
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twobits
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Re: Penticton Public Transit

Post by twobits »

Dizzy1 wrote:
Then ride the bus more so it doesn't have to be subsidized - simple solution :smt045


Why would any one with a vehicle do that in a City like Penticton? It takes me 2 hrs less in time and only about a buck more in gas over the bus fair to go anywhere in town I want to in five short minutes. My two hrs of time is worth more to me than subsidizing your wages.
How bout instead of wanting me to subsidize your wage, you explain to taxpayers why the true cost of transportation of public transit is not reflected in the fare charged? Public transit only works in highly urbanized areas where fares actually reflect the cost of service. For the truly disadvantaged, income tests can provide transportation subsidies.
There is absolutely no reason to run a transit service on the scale we have here in Penticton for two or three people on many routes at any given time of day. On top of the Provincial (BC Transit) subsidy that we all pay for in Provincial income tax, we are as Penticton taxpayers saddled with another 3/4 million dollars annually to pay for this cost inefficient service.
BTW, if that 750k subsidy were gone, Penticton property taxes could be reduced by 3% or about $85 per year for the average homeowner. Glad you feel we are all happy to support your job that drives two people.
And shall we get into a discussion of the carbon benefits of running these buses for the total ridership in Penticton? Fail.
Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.
Dizzy1
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Posts: 10778
Joined: Feb 12th, 2011, 1:56 pm

Re: Penticton Public Transit

Post by Dizzy1 »

twobits wrote:
Why would any one with a vehicle do that in a City like Penticton? It takes me 2 hrs less in time and only about a buck more in gas over the bus fair to go anywhere in town I want to in five short minutes. My two hrs of time is worth more to me than subsidizing your wages.
How bout instead of wanting me to subsidize your wage, you explain to taxpayers why the true cost of transportation of public transit is not reflected in the fare charged? Public transit only works in highly urbanized areas where fares actually reflect the cost of service. For the truly disadvantaged, income tests can provide transportation subsidies.
There is absolutely no reason to run a transit service on the scale we have here in Penticton for two or three people on many routes at any given time of day. On top of the Provincial (BC Transit) subsidy that we all pay for in Provincial income tax, we are as Penticton taxpayers saddled with another 3/4 million dollars annually to pay for this cost inefficient service.
BTW, if that 750k subsidy were gone, Penticton property taxes could be reduced by 3% or about $85 per year for the average homeowner. Glad you feel we are all happy to support your job that drives two people.
And shall we get into a discussion of the carbon benefits of running these buses for the total ridership in Penticton? Fail.

Hop on the bus :) More ridership, better service. Better service more people take it :) The more people that take it, the even better the service gets :)

And don't worry, you're not subsidizing my wage :)
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fall
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Re: Penticton Public Transit

Post by fall »

Never going to happen. Cut bus service and lay off drivers more like it.
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