A Positive Experience on the GO Bus

I've mentioned a couple times how much I like GO Transit, a regional public transportation agency that covers most of southern Ontario (where I live). Last night I had another positive experience. Here's the story!

I was coming home from visiting my brother and some friends in Hamilton. It was getting late, and the trip would take two and a half hours with three transit agencies. I used the (almost excellent) Triplinx trip planner to find my route; the best choice included only a five-minute wait between the Hamilton bus and the GO bus that followed. Five minutes--not a comfortable margin at the best of times, and much worse when the next GO bus leaves almost an hour later.

Needless to say, I missed the GO bus. I saw it drive away, but I still missed it.

A moment later, another GO bus pulled up to the platform. Because I didn't see the destination sign on my bus, I thought I'd confirm with this driver that the bus I saw leaving was indeed mine. She said to get on, called my bus and asked the driver to wait for me, then drove me to my bus. Imagine that! I simply asked "was that the 47 that just left?" and the driver leapt into action.

There are many reasons GO Transit has become so successful over the past decade. It's true that the two drivers involved last night showed exceptional courtesy in helping resolve a problem that was basically my own fault. Yet that's only possible in a working environment where the employees are happy and encouraged to show such courtesy. It's easy to say mean things about crown corporations, but this one has proven it's well managed!