Laidlaw: Leave the driving alone

The Greyhound strike in Western Canada enters its second week, and this page is in full support of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1374.

To date, most of the bitching from the great unwashed has centered around Greyhound Canada's head office in Calgary, where would-be passengers were angry that the strike started before the Victoria Day long weekend, and claims that there was no notice of a strike. For those of you scoring at home ( or in Calgary), Greyhound, like other "home teams" Canada Safeway, Westjet, and the Oilpatch, have a lifetime free pass from the local media in Calgary. Seldom is heard a discouraging word, which meant travellers couldn't make their way home from the range.

ATU members hit the picket lines because they're trying to stop the "Americanization" of Greyhound Canada under the ownership of the Laidlaw corporation. While this page bristles at using "Americanization" as a negative, there is something seriously wrong with the bulk of passenger bus service in Canada being placed in the hands of a company best known for school buses.

A ride to school and back home is one thing: being forced to stop in Abbotsford on every eastbound trip, having seat reservations inexplicably cancelled, being woken up on overnight trips because of arguments with drivers over trips being routed through Kelowna that were scheduled through Kamloops at the time of boarding, and repeated mechanical breakdowns are a few other things. If that's what ATU 1374 means by "Americanization", then hand this page Old Glory and a book of matches.

This page hopes the union can pressure Laidlaw from running Greyhound on the cheap, and make taking the bus a realistic, environmentally friendly, and relaxing option for travellers once again.