Written by Ashton Deroy

Have you heard the great news? January 1 2025 the Belleville Ontario Bus fares went up. I think that is great. Cause if there is one thing the city needs it’s more money from low income workers!!! However is the Belleville Ontario Transit pass an idiot tax? Certainly the bus pass is not a key to a perfect service but in what other ways does our bussing maybe let us down?

1. Sunday service – I have been saying this for years. If I have to work Sunday? The Bus Driving service should be on at full capacity as well! Sunday is not some sacred spiritual day for the imaginary deity in the sky. It is not a day these city workers should be entitled to. Frankly it stifles the productivity of our town which consists largely of low income workers.
2. Our bus service does not decrease instances of drunk driving! – This is another way the bus service in Belleville Ontario is a complete failure. The bar may be going hard. People may be having a good time! However when the party is over? People will not be able to get a bus back home. This fails to reduce incidents of impaired driving. It makes driving intoxicated to some seem as necessity. For the record if you do drunk or impaired driving you are literally scum that has decided your convenience is more important than the lives you endanger! I am not mincing words though. The Bus service with it’s early stop times does nothing to decrease impaired driving. Or frankly people collapsing on the side walk cause they partied too hard and had no means home but to walk! Pathetic!
3. Our Bus service does not match the productivity goals of our town – If I am going to earn a low wage at a factory? The Bus system had better support me because I can’t make car payments. Except when offered a position with adecco that started at 5:00 AM ? I had to reject it. I can’t be promising myself at times the public transportation system does not support. I know that all our Manufacturing jobs use your full physical battery to. Walking there and back is not an option.

I have been writing these pieces slamming Belleville Ontario Transit as a piece of crap for years. It is holding people back, making the community poorer and it is a great example of incompetence in City Government for Belleville Ontario proceeding into the Neil Ellis Administration. Seemingly bussing only gets worse as time goes on. Look at the new routes. They actually suck! Meanwhile there are countries using bussing to bring back manufacturing jobs, lower their carbon footprints, meet their manufacturing goals and act as a 24/7 alternative to vehicle ownership. Yes invest in Public transit. For the love of Belleville though! Please improve bussing so that we can bring back factory jobs, telecom jobs and have a culture where people care about driving sober.