Public Transit.

[cain]

I was reading and article today in the Edmonton Sun and to quote part of the article.

"Coun. Amarjeet Sohi has gone from bus driver to bus rider. He’s one of four city councillors who today pledged to use public transportation exclusively for the next week. And the first-term civic politician admits transit service in Edmonton is sub-par."

I feel that all of the councilors should have to do the same so that they can Practice what they preach, so that they can see that there are many problems and this may lead to a much better transit system

this is just my $0.02

http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmonton/2007/11/19/4668723.html

[Lydia]

WOW what an way out idea. Councilors on Buses.


Cain, you are totally correct. Not only should they be on buses for a week. They should also get on one bus at one end of the city and travel by way of transfers to the other side of the city. Only then will councilors really understand how great (NOT) our transit system is.

It is not the fault of the bus drivers either that the problems exist. However, I do think that this present council could easily do it without reservation. I trust fully in the present council.

What do you say, Mayor, Councilors?? Give it a try.

[cain]

However this will never happen. because the council is a do as i say not as i do.

3 more years of this council. maybe next time i will beat Sara.

:)

[Lydia]

McCoy Bus Service
Public Hearing with the Ontario Highway Transport Board
Wednesday May 28, 2008
Kingston Independent Nylon Workers Hall
Between 3:00 pm & 8:00 pm

Background Information by Shawn Geary – Owner, McCoy Bus Service & Tours.
The passenger transportation industry in Ontario is regulated by the Ontario Highway Transport Board (OHTB). The way the OHTB licenses companies is through an application process whereby the company seeking a license must apply to the OHTB and include with their application letters of support from the public who can testify that there is a need for another licensed bus company operating in the area the applicant is applying for. The application is advertised and any bus company that is currently licensed to operates in the area being applied for can oppose the new application on the grounds that there is not sufficient public support for another licensed company in the area. Existing licensed bus companies can also oppose and application on the basis that the licensing of another company could have a serious economic impact on the company currently licensed in the area applied for and therefore the license should not be granted.

I grew McCoy Bus Service from a limousine service with the purchase of my first mini bus in 1994. At the time, I applied for and was granted a license from the OHTB to operate “Class D” vehicles, most commonly known as school bus and mini bus type vehicles. In an attempt to get into the motor coach business, I submitted many applications for a bus operating license to the Ontario Highway Transport Board in the early 1990’s that would allow McCoy to operate “Class A” regular motor coach type buses. Each time I applied, the existing licensed companies such as Coach Canada (Trentway-Wager at the time), Franklin Bus Lines from Belleville and Regan Bus Lines of Kingston continuously opposed my application. The only way I could secure a license to operate motor coaches was to exploit a loophole that permitted McCoy Bus Service to only operate highway coach type buses without reclining seats.

The concept of having a highway coach considered Class D “without reclining seats” was upheld when challenged by Coach Canada. A couple of years after the “Class D” - no reclining seats ruling was
upheld, I re-installed the reclining mechanisms on the buses I had and didn’t remove the recliners from
buses that were added to the fleet. Over the many years that followed, there were no challenges or
complaints from any other bus companies about us operating buses with reclining seats. No other
company seemed to notice and no other bus company’s seemed to care.

McCoy Bus Service currently operates a fleet of 23 buses consisting of eleven 56 passenger coaches
(Class A vehicles), five 49 passenger coaches (Class B vehicles), four 24 passenger mini coaches and
three 44 passenger activity buses (Class D vehicles). In March of this year I applied to amend our operating license with the Ontario Highway Transport Board to allow us to match our license to the service we provided which was operating motor coaches with reclining seats. Our application has been opposed by 3 companies from outside of the Kingston area. Greyhound Canada, Franklin Coach Lines of Belleville and Joe Foley Bus Lines of Madoc are all trying to prevent the continued success and growth of our company.

On Wednesday May 28th the Ontario Highway Transport Board is holding a public hearing in Kingston
to determine whether there is sufficient support from the community to grant McCoy Bus Service a
license to operate motor coaches with reclining seats. We need as many of our Charter and tour clients
to come to the Kingston Independent Nylon Workers Hall – 725 Arlington Park Place (between 3pm
and 8pm – you don’t need to stay for the entire time, just make an appearance and see your tax dollars
at work) to attend the hearing on May 28th in the late afternoon or early evening to show their support
for a family owned local Kingston company. Don’t let these out of town bus companies hold back a
successful local Kingston family business.


At the hearing on May 28, lawyers for Greyhound, Franklin and Foley will try to discredit McCoy Bus
Service by saying things such as; we operated illegally by having reclining seats, we broke the law by
having seats on our coaches that recline and that we should not be allowed to operate buses with
reclining seats as it will harm these out of town companies. McCoy Bus Service operated for at least
seven years with reclining seats and no other company even noticed. The fact that I have to apply for a
license to do exactly what I have been doing for about seven years is nothing more than a waste of time
and money for me, my staff, the members of the Ontario Highway Transport Board and the tax payers
of Ontario. The out of town companies that have opposed McCoy’s application to have the Class D (no
reclining seat) restriction removed are attempting to suppress the growth and success of this company.
As a valued customer, I am asking for your support in our attempt to correct our Operating License. I
would like to ask you to come out on May 28th to the Nylon Worker’s Hall on Arlington Park Place to
show the Ontario Highway Transport Board that you would like to support my efforts to have the
“Class D” restriction removed and allow us to operate motor coaches with reclining seats.
If you have any questions or would like additional information, please don’t hesitate to call me at any
time. I can be reached at the office most days between 8am and 5pm. I will be calling you over the
next couple of weeks to discuss the possibility of having you come to the hearing on May 28th.
Thank you in advance for you assistance and support.

Sincerely,
Shawn Geary
Ontario Public Vehicles Act
Definition of Public Vehicles

(i) “Class A” means a public vehicle equipped with air-ride or torsion-bar suspension, reclining seats, baggage capacity separated from the passenger cabin, motive power that is mounted to the rear of the front axle, washroom facilities and air conditioning,
(ii) “Class B” means a public vehicle equipped with air-ride or torsion-bar suspension, reclining seats, baggage capacity separated from the passenger cabin, motive power that is mounted to the rear of the front axle, and either washroom facilities or air conditioning,
(iii) “Class C” means a public vehicle equipped with air-ride or torsion-bar suspension, reclining seats, baggage capacity separated from the passenger cabin, motive power that is mounted to the rear of the front axle, but neither washroom facilities nor air conditioning, and
(iv) “Class D” means a public vehicle that is not a Class A, B or C public vehicle; hen you take a “Class A” motor coach type vehicle and remove one of the defined features listed above such as reclining seats then it is no longer a “Class A” vehicle. McCoy Bus Service has a Public Vehicle License for “Class D” vehicles as defined above. McCoy Bus Service has applied to the Ontario Highway Transport Board to
remove the class restriction completely from their operating license. The removal of the class restriction will allow McCoy Bus Service to continue to do what they have been doing for many years - provide safe reliable transportation in quality equipment at a fair price.

[Lydia]

McCoy Bus Service has applied to the Ontario Highway Transport Board to
remove the class restriction completely from their operating license. The removal of the class restriction will allow McCoy Bus Service to continue to do what they have been doing for many years - provide safe reliable transportation in quality equipment at a fair price.

The Board is holding their meetings at Kingston Independent Nylon Workers Hall – 725 Arlington Park Place. There will be a continuation of the hearings Thursday May 29, 2008 beginning at 9:00 a.m..

Shawn Geary, Owner of McCoy Bus Services and Tours has confessed today that he did use a loop hole that allowed him to use a Class A Vehicle as long as he disabled the reclining seats in it and operate it as a Class D vehicle. He also indicated that he also stopped disabling the reclining seats a few years ago and is now looking to remove class restrictions on his fleet.

How many of us really care about classification of an A,B,C, or D vehicle as long as service, reliability, customer relations, economically friendly to passengers, and community relationships are present with our transportation businesses? Would classification even be of concern to us passengers if we have all the rest?? Not so fast people, There is much more at stake here and we need to evaluate the other side of this picture. Like Dr. Phil says “Every Pancake has two sides” I am hoping to at least show a glimpse at both sides of the issue.

At today’s hearing countless supporters for McCoy Bus Services came and expressed their respect for services rendered, dependability, community involvement, comfort, economic value, deep respect for staff, drivers and mechanics. People representing Senior Groups, Public and Separate School Boards, Radio Stations, Sports Groups, Church Groups, etc. Almost all informed the Ontario Highway Transport Board that reclining or non-reclining seats were not a factor in their decision to hire McCoy. Yes they would prefer reclining seats but that was not the reason for them to request the buses.

The Supporters were very much appreciative of Kedco’s Jeffrey Garrah, who supported McCoy buses. He informed the Board of the growth and community involvement that Shawn Geary gives Kingston. Mr. Garrah, expressed that he believes that when a person confesses a wrong doing and then works to correct this that the company should not be punished and that proper licenses should be given to McCoy. He also indicated that although there was a wrong doing that it never endangered the passengers. Many of us also break bi-laws daily but we are not punished for it, we are informed that we must stop it and correct our paths. That is exactly what Shawn Geary is trying to do.

So who are McCoy’s opposition at today’s hearing?
1: Coach Canada’s Jim Devlin. This company has it’s headquarters located in Peterborough according to the internet. Jim indicated that he is a resident of Kingston and considered Coach Canada as a Local business in Kingston. Although the supporters think that McCoy Buses are squeaky clean that he didn’t believe that was totally the truth. I will be asking for more details tomorrow.

2: Franklin Coach’s Monte Smith. This company is out of Belleville. Monte explained that the issues of fairness was his concern. I feel that his position is centered around the fact that there is a cost associated with classification of licenses and also insurance risks. An interesting question that I have is this. “How would insurance companies compensate clients of a charter should an accident ever occur if the transit company does NOT have correct licenses?” I have to admit this is a major concern for me as a passenger. I know for a fact that there was a mini-bus that operated between Montreal Casino and Kingston’s Division Road Restaurant’s which was in an accident where people did surpass to injuries.

3: Joe Foley Bus Line’s President, Duane J. V. Foley, This company is out of Madoc. Unfortunately, I was unable to discuss the issue with him and hope to be able to bring you his views tomorrow.


Although I did not catch the Lawyer for the opposition’s name I was impressed with her.. I found her very friendly, witty, courteous, willing and able to stress two points of concern. 1: McCoy used a loophole to grow business. 2: McCoy does not have Class A licenses.

She questioned each and every speaker as to why they chose McCoy Buses. She questioned everyone on how important reclining or non-reclining seats effected our choices. She questioned everyone on how much the services cost. (One of the supporters indicated that the cost was irrelevant and that brought a loud applaud from the other supporters in the room.)

I was very impressed with my own Councilor Robert Matheson. The only one who came to support our local business. Hopefully other Councilors will become present at tomorrow’s continuation of this hearing.

My own position is this:
I am fully supportive of McCoy Buses for the following reasons

A: This company gives back to our community in services but also as supportive friend of our children who would not ordinarily get a chance to go on trips
B: This company gives back to our community by willing to help our firemen when and if they need help.
C: This company gives low-income people an opportunity to go on trips at a decent fare.
D: This company presents packages that include the cost of an event and the transportation costs all in one
E: This company does not always use HUGH BUSES to transport smaller groups of people to tourist destinations
F: This company’s head office is here in Kingston,
G: This company hires our residents
H: This company respects and helps their clients of all ages.

I am not worried about reclining or non-reclining seats. I am concerned about liability if insurances does not cover me for taking a bus without correct insurance.

[Lydia]

Boy what a second day at a hearing does for a gal. Makes people say I am sorry for being mistaken.

I need to apologize for any confusion I have had and correct my mistakes.

1: In the above posting I indicated that Mr. Jim Devlin from Coach Canada spoke about the squeaky clean image of McCoy's. I was mistaken on two points. A: Coach Canada representative was NOT at the hearing as an opponent. B: The gentleman who (I believed to have been Mr. Devlin) actually was Mr. Dennis Frost. Due to the representative of Coach Canada having been there, I made an assumption that there were 3 opponents.

2: When he spoke about a squeaky clean image, he was not referring to the conditions of McCoy's buses. Dennis was only mentioning that McCoy's isn't as great as the supporters are making the company out to be.

3: JOYCE MACLEOD-KANE was at yesterday's hearing as well as Robert Matheson. Joyce was there again this morning. Thank you Joyce for being there both days.

4: The Lawyer for the Opposition's name is Marion Isenberg. She was a force to be reckoned with. She was involved with hearings in the Transportation field for many years and came from Toronto.

Now for today's continuation.

This was the day that the opposition presented their views and issues. Yesterday the supporters for McCoy's Buses had their day to illustrate their appreciation for the services. Over 25 members spoke up for McCoy's.

The main objection that Frankin and Foley bus lines was that McCoy acted against the licences that was given to McCoy which was Class D (non-reclining seats). By doing this their opinion was that Mr. Shawn Geary operated illegally. Shawn willingly admitted (a few months ago) to the Transit Board that he was wrong and wanted to correct the situation by applying for a Class A licence at this time. This didn't sway the Lawyer, Marion Isenberg. Her position was that the board should turn down his request at THIS time and to operate only with Class D vehicles for at least several months and then REAPPLY for the Class A licences.

Yesterday the supporters all informed the Board that they chose to McCoy. They also indicated that from time to time they also chose Frankin, Coach Canada and Foley. However, Ms Isenberg used this to illustrate that McCoy had taken business from the other three. I personally believe that was NOT the intent of the supporters.

Frankin and Foley Transit are all family based business which do not advertise extensively as McCoy does. Also McCoy IS NOT a family based business. Shawn started this business from scratch. Although Ms Isenberg tried to show the Board that McCoy took business from the others, Shawn illustrated that there was NO way that the other two could prove that it was McCoy that was solely responsible for loss of business. I personally believe that loss of business might be due to the fact that these companies do not ADVERTISE extensively.

I personally believe the Monte Smith from Franklin Coach can be a very open to the public. I believe the Monte will be looking at ways to increase his business and has listened to advise to increase his business. I encourage him to use the Internet more and to look at ways to bring his trips to our attention in better ways. This also applies to Duane Foley.

My hope is that the Transit Board does grant McCoy their class A licences
Maybe when everything is done and over with, that all the companies mentioned could come together in a way that will benefit all of them. In today's society, we are becoming more aware of the global footprint and how we need to cut down on car use, plane travel, etc. I can actually see people deciding to use these companies for our extensive traveling and thereby stopping automobiles owners from using their cars. My hope is that the more we start to use them, the *****er travel will get and yet allow these companies to grow and prosper. I believe there is enough business out there for us to enjoy but we also need to hear about the opportunities.

At the conclusion of the hearing, I really believe that These companies would much prefer to illuminate the classification requirements. Maybe the Transport Board, might be willing to give licenses based on merit, safety, and business reliability rather than on reclining or non-reclining seats.