A few weeks back I was in Norway, above the Arctic Circle. Looks a lot like our fair isle, by the way.
Anyhow, I decided to take a local bus to a town about an hour away where I was told a reconstructed fishing village was a must see.
So I hopped on the municipal bus and we headed out of town.
Just like at home, the bus picked up and dropped of people with their shopping — well not quite since the equivalent would have been taking a bus to Witless Bay, C.B.S, or Argentia.
About half an hour into the journey the bus pulled into a schoolyard and about 30 children got in, ranging in age from five to nine
They each showed the driver their pass, sat down and buckled themselves in and off we went.
Children were deposited at various stops where they either got on their bikes and headed off down lanes to distant farms or walked to nearby houses.
Not an adult to be seen.
I got to thinking — if we doubled up on the municipal buses in St. John’s and ditched the yellow monsters and gave every kid a bus pass wouldn’t that provide a much-needed shot in the arm for public transit, and teach our youngsters some independence skills into the bargain?
Maybe down the road the road (no pun intended) when these young folks head to MUN they might just be prepared to vote for public transit, unlike the present crop.
Bill Radford,
St. John’s
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