Ottawa's Transitway is turning 25 years old and the city has decided to celebrate by calling on residents to share their
Transitway memories. In 500 words or less, riders are being encouraged to tell the city about their memorable encounters.
To quote transit committee chair Coun. Alex Cullen (from a press release): “We want to hear that story about how that charming person sitting beside you ended up becoming your spouse, or how a wonderful driver or kind passenger turned an ordinary day into an extraordinary one."
Uh huh. Surly staff and elected reps at the city can't be stupid enough to not realize what sorts of stories they're bound to get. Seriously. Transitway memories... that conjures up some less than celebratory-inducing stories.
A few of us were discussing the hilarity of this exercise. Here are the stories the concept of "Transitway memories" elicited:
1. Six years later there are still different breeds of the westbound 95s -- one to Baseline, one to Fallowfield and one to Strandherd. There are about two Baseline buses for each of the others, despite Barrhaven being one of the fastest growing communities. Just try getting on the Strandherd or Fallowfield ones -- they're always too packed.
2. Sex in a bus shelter surprise.
3. Encounters on the ghetto #2 bus with a man that was pants-free while wearing a top hat and a gaping trench coat.
4. The time two 95s were zipping along the Transitway in opposite directions, managed to knock each other's mirrors off while passing and didn't bother to stop.
5. Three words: no snow tires.
6. Taking the last 95 of the night/morning to Baseline, each time the bus pulled forward about half a dozen empty beer bottles would roll backwards under the seats and down the aisle, and when it stopped they'd roll forward.
7. Buses that just fail to show up, and 30 minutes later all arrive at the same time.
