Dear editor,
As I talk to Airdronians on the campaign trail, there are a few recurring issues that people are upset about. The issue I find most frustrating is the City’s involvement in the intercity bus market. Mayor Bruce’s attitude towards transit can be summed up perfectly by a quote from Ronald Reagan: “If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. If it stops moving, subsidize it.”
The only difference between this and the Bruce administration approach is that they skipped the first step, and are taking the third step even further. The Mayor doesn’t want to subsidize transit. She wants to nationalize it. Despite the fact that the City told Traxx that it would rubber-stamp the application to operate an intercity bus service to Calgary, the City is now leaving it up to the Province and Traxx’s competitors to determine whether they can operate. I thought that the era where politicians believed they could micromanage the economy ended with Trudeau. Sadly, I was mistaken.
My team and I recently met with Steven Tulloch, Traxx's tour manager in order to figure out what it would take to get Traxx rolling. It seems that they need to wait for a Provincial government panel to tell Airdronians how they can spend their own money. Meanwhile, the City’s InterCity Express (ICE) bus service is gearing up to putter down the Deerfoot. It boggles my mind that the City would spend $2.1 million dollars to run a service that private companies are begging to provide. It is especially troublesome, given that Traxx is offering superior quality service at a guaranteed rate. They operate comfortable motor coaches that can actually drive the speed limit, unlike the ICE buses, which can only do 80 km/h. They are the equivalent of newer Greyhound buses, which beat any City bus for comfort. And articulated buses aren’t just any buses—they are about the least comfortable buses you can imagine. If you’ve ever taken a bus in Calgary, you may have encountered those weird accordion buses.
They are bumpy, and provide a very jerky ride, especially when you’re near the centre of the bus, where it folds in on you. Now imagine riding one of those at 80 km/hr. It’s almost enough to make you glad they can’t reach the speed limit.
While the decision whether to allow Traxx to operate is formally in the hands of this Provincial panel, the City could easily tell the panel that they want to allow Traxx to operate in our city. My understanding is that this is precisely what the City planned to do before a rival bus company demanded protection from competition. Allowing Traxx to operate in Airdrie is the right thing to do. How can we call our municipal government ‘green’ if it is working to undermine mass transit?
The lack of leadership from the City on this file was one of the things that motivated me to run for mayor in the first place. If I have the privilege of serving as your next mayor, the first thing I will do is tell the province that Traxx will be allowed to operate in our city. Traxx isn’t asking for a monopoly, or for subsidies. It just wants a chance to offer Airdronians a reasonable alternative to driving to Calgary. If Mayor Bruce is going to continue to oppose your ability to choose how you get to work, then the least she can do is explain why she thinks she knows what’s best for you.
Ross Mann, Candidate for Mayor in Airdrie
