They've Just Shot Us in the Leg. Next Time They'll be Aiming for the Head

The city of Ottawa's elected representatives have shot their residents in the leg. Next time they'll be aiming for our heads.

Despite a 42-day and counting transit strike, Ottawa residents are limping, but managing to soldier on. However, the next strike at the public transit authority will cripple the city unless fundamental changes are made.

The drivers and mechanics at the city of Ottawa's public transit monopoly, OC Transpo (OCTR), have been on strike since December 10th. Since the city has made no effort to keep OCTR buses and trains operating, Dec. 9th was the last day the city had public transit.

There is no sign of a settlement. Yesterday residents were told by OCTR management that it will be one week after the mechanics return to work before the first buses are back on the road, and over 3 months before the system is restored to its pre-strike level of service.

The poor and disadvantaged who are dependant on OCTR have suffered the most. Businesses along major bus routes have seen sales fall off significantly. More cars are on the road and rush hour commutes are much longer.

Only a few short weeks before the strike, the city's mayor and council approved a long-term transit plan. The plan calls upon Ottawa, Ontario and federal taxpayers to spend $4.7 billion over the next 30 years on expanding and upgrading the transit system. A central focus of the plan is to make Ottawa residents use their cars less and become even more reliant on public transit.

The unions at OCTR couldn't be happier. They were not asked to provide a no-strike guarantee as a pre-condition to gaining all of the new jobs this massive taxpayer investment will generate. Their jobs will not be threatened by competition since competition to OCTR is outlawed. If residents do become more dependant on public transit, as is hoped for in the transit plan, the unions will have even greater power than they now have to hold all residents hostage to their compensation demands.

During the strike the OCTR drivers and mechanics have shown how they, and not elected officials, control transit in the city. Their view, unchallenged by any elected official, is that no one can operate any sort of transit service that would carry a passenger who would otherwise use OCTR (if it were operating).

The result is that OCTR management have had to negotiate with the striking union to obtain its permission before more specialized vehicles could be put on the road to serve the handicapped, and then accept the union's conditions under what terms this would happen.

Schools have had to plead with the union to allow their buses to make extra runs to bring children to school that normally would ride on the OCTR system. The union did in the end give its permission, but only under very restrictive conditions that cause the students to lose time in the classroom.

End OCTR's monopoly and these union tactics disappear. Elected officials gave OCTR its monopoly. They should now take it away. A transit monopoly has given the OCTR unions too much power over residents' lives. The only way to offset that power is to give residents the right to choose among multiple providers of transit service.

Public transit is not a natural monopoly. Other cities, including London, England, allow competition in public transit. Competition gives customers choice, spurs innovation and forces operators to be efficient. It also prevents unions at what are currently monopoly transit providers from completely eliminating public transit when they go on strike.

We have choice in areas that used to be considered natural monopolies, such as local telephone service and cable TV. It's time for choice in public transit.