Well hello there folks!
Are you disabled?
Have you ever had a burning desire to be on a game show?
It turns out that the City of Edmonton can accommodate you!
They have a new one!
It's called...
Wheel....
Of....
DATS!!!!
The endurance tests start right away!
There's the Call Center Wait.
Can you survive the full 15-to-30 minute wait?
Congratulations to you...on to the next round!
Where you spin the Wheel Of DATS!
So you have a doctor's appointment at 9 AM?
Let's spin the wheel now...how does 6:50 sound for a pickup?
Happened to me last Thursday folks!
Now let's spin again to get you a ride home!
Oh, we're so SORRY! We don't have one!
Try to get one again tomorrow...with the Wheel of DATS!
Now potentially missing appointments is bad enough.
(I did not miss mine, because I took the early time and hung out in the Circle K for about 90 minutes.)
But if you are working and consistently can't show up on time due to transportation issues, you are probably spending a good portion of what you make just to arrive on time.
Kind of a self-defeating situation, if you ask me.
And even if you travel just to get out of the house two or three days a week to meet friends at a mall, all this bother might inspire you to cut down your trips to one a week.
Or none.
Not a good thing either.
Of course, there are a few logical reasons for what seems to be illogical.
About ten drivers retiring all at the same time
Thank you all for your years of service providing this essential and much appreciated service!
Very tight schedules handed to the drivers who are left, causing them stress and sickness.
And a rapidly aging bus fleet.
There is hope for change on the horizon.
New drivers have been hired to fill the gap.
New buses are reportedly in the works too.
But here's the potential problem.
As is the nature of any level of government, all of this could take months.
Personally, if not for the weather, I would be doing most of my travelling on accessible ETS, to lighten the load.
And I haven't yet, but I will be signing up for the online I-Book program, to free up the DATS phone system.
For seniors and others without access to the Internet, that may be a helpful gesture.
I know a few hardy and enterprising souls who are undertaking DATS/ETS combo trips to make things work. Even with the weather,
So I was thinking, if all of us...
...that is drivers, riders, and management...
...work together the best we can...
...perhaps we can encourage the big wheels of government...
...to progress at something close to normal speed.
And then the game show wheels can stay on TV!
Your Partner In Life
