A Foreword by NAL publisher Doug Draper
In an age when growing numbers of individuals and groups around the world are pointing to public transit as more environmentally friendly alternative to cars, you may already know that Canada’s Via Rail has recently announced cuts to its rail transit services, including those running between the Niagara, Ontario region and the Greater Toronto Area.
This recent announcement came before a not-for-profit U.S. group called the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, ranked Canada 11th out of 12 industrialized nations around the world when it comes to the use of public transit and other technologies to conserve or reduce the use of non-renewable energy. On that score, the Via Rail decision to cut back on its services just seems like another step backwards to the last half of the 20th century when cars became king and have more or less kept their crown to this day. Instead of taking steps at all levels of government, and through our schools and workplaces, to encourage more people to leave their cars home, when possible, and use public transit, we as a country too often simply throw up our hands and cut transit services or increase the fares to a point where switching to riding a train or a bus becomes less attractive than driving a car – even in an age of dollars per gallon oil.
Niagara At Large is posting the following letter one Via Transit commuter from our greater Niagara region sent to Via, protesting the cut in services, and the reply she received for our many readers’ information. The letter writer is Vera and we have been asked by her not to publish her last name in order to protect her from any repercussions. In this particular case, the message is of enough public interest that we have decided to bend our first and last name rule on all posts. We have also corresponded with Vera and can confirm that she is a real person with a serious concern about losing public transit services in our region.
Now here is Vera’s letter to Via Rail, followed by a response from a Via Rail official.
A Letter To Via Rail from Vera, July 4, 2012
I heard/read that Via is intending to cancel its Niagara service with shortened day service in August followed by total cancelation of trains 90 and 95 by end of Oct?
IS THIS REALLY TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How can that be viable? We only have one train in and out of the region and you will cripple us.
I have been a loyal commuter from Grimsby since 2003 and moved to Grimsby because of the via commuter service. It was a big decision to relocate from Toronto to a small rural town but the Via service made the decision easy.
The implications of this are devastating, not only to commuters but also to all families who travel to Niagara Falls for vacations and getaways. The people have luggage , strollers, kids in tow, and you expect them to pile into a GO train/bus combination.
That is a whole other story. The Go connections are not user friendly. The have limited service and its takes a long time with stops along the way to get to Burlington Go, and that’s on a perfect good day with no traffic congestion, accidents or snow storms to deal with.
On another note, I have been saving my via premier preference points to take a trip to Vancouver for my husband and I , a nice reward after spending approximately $ 54,000 with Via over these past years, and now that will not be able to happen either since I will be cut off from my dream by not having enough
Points to get us there? And on that note, what happens to our points?
What a shame, sham, whatever word you want to choose,
Via is a big crown corporation with millions in funding, picking on a region like Niagara which already has limited service, one train in and one train out, to make its cost cutting savings.
Interesting, I don’t think any service was cut on the Montreal run. Is that a mere coincidence or planned politics?
Anyway, please feel free to respond and if you could pls provide me with more names and contact info for customer service I would appreciate it.
I am still in shock, as are all the other commuters ?
Via Rail’s response letter to Vera.
Dear (Vera), July 6, 2012
Thank you for your email concerning VIA?s schedule changes announced on June 27th.
VIA is in the midst of a transformation which involves modernizing its assets and becoming a more efficient business. In addition to investments in equipment, track capacity, stations and technology initiatives such as electronic ticketing, VIA must also adjust its service network to match market demand.
For any business to be successful, it must match service to market demand. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, some of our frequencies have been in decline for quite some time. It may be because demand is seasonal (as with the Canadian in Western Canada), or because the transportation landscape in the region has changed dramatically (as with the Ocean in Eastern Canada). In some places we are duplicating services that are more suited to other modes (as in Southwestern Ontario).
Please accept my sincere apologies for any inconvenience that you experience as a result of these changes. As VIA keeps moving forward, it will continue to evaluate market response and demand, and may make additional adjustments if warranted.
Again, thank you for taking the time to write and to share your concerns, and for allowing us the opportunity to explain. Your message has been forwarded to the manager/s responsible for internal review.
Sincerely,
Herb
Customer Support
VIA Rail Canada
To read the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy report ranking Canada near the bottom on public transit and other energy saying measures visit http://http://www.aceee.org/research-report/e12a .
(Niagara At Large invites you to share your views on this post, remembering that NAL only posts comments by individuals who also share their first and last names.)
Niagara At Large 
Here it is: business is bad, let’s raise prices, decrease service. Is this another Harper cut, or is it due to something else? I have seen lots of people use the VIA Rail train … oh well, I guess they will be joining the rest of us on the overfull Coach Canada buses, or GO Transit which isn’t even accessible downtown or from the train station and takes several stops and conveyances before you get to where you are going … We may well lose some of our commuters to Hamilton or Burlington.
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The devastation left by this so called conservative government in Ottawa will take decades in not centuries to rectify and the legacy left on the environmental scale will forever rank Canada as a parasite of corporate indulgence.
Cutting every social program is the usual fare for these goons but now they are cutting deeper than anyone could ever imagine for now it is Via Rail.
Harper said he will change the face of Canada to a point where no one will ever recognize ii ….. he was elected…..and now the transformation is underway…How could this happen in a so called Democratic country like Canada?????
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Let’s face the facts, Via’s prices are outragious compared to GO transit…get the GO trains into Niagara and everyone saves big time!!!
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GO transit will take over this route and bring more trains to Niagara and also at quite a savings to all…Via’s prices are outragious if anyone cares to compare them to GO…
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Unfortunately, there is a great deal of truth in both Vera’s letter to Via … and Via’s response.
Although I worked for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation as a PR person for 19 years, mostly talking about highways, I have been a railfan since I was about 10 years old. I love trains – one of my hobbies is model railroading.
The ugly fact is that the number of North Americans who would rather ride a train than drive a car is extremely small. One only needs to look at Toronto to see the disdain many have for plans for light rail systems for public transit. Light rail is similar to streetcars or trams.
At one time, there was an extensive network “radial” or “interurban” railways across Southern Ontario, particularly the Golden Horseshoe. You could ride the equivalent of a streetcar from Downtown Toronto, all the way to St. Catharines. Yes, you would have to change cars in Hamilton – but that was not a major inconvenience.
After the Second World War, people wanted to drive their own cars – rather than ride public transit.
That mind-set is still very strongly entrenched today. Yes, there are more people now willing to talk about using public transit but still not enough to provide the impetus for governments to invest the type of money that will be needed.
Much the same applies to heavy passenger rail. Via and GO Transit are both classed as heavy rail. CN & CP both lost money on passenger service for years before the federal government created VIA. Most people are unwilling to take the train because they can reach their destination faster by car or by plane. The costs of operating passenger trains are large, so the fares must reflect that.
Over and above all that, is the fact that Canadians, through their votes, have told the federal government to cut spending. So the government is doing what it can to reduce spending. VIA is one area where they can see a way to reduce spending while having impact on fewer people.
You can yell and scream all you want, but the simple fact remains is that the current government was given a mandate by the voters. Saying you didn’t vote for them doesn’t mean a thing – they have the mandate to cut. You have the opportunity to reject that mandate at the next election.
But remember – you can’t ask for more services from government and for lower taxes at the same time! It is an either-or situation. If you want lower taxes, you have to accept reductions in government spending.
Do I like what I am saying? No! I would rather see VIA maintained and a greater investment in rail transportation all across this country. But I realize that is not going to happen.
If I were to say that I would rather see the government cut the CBC completely, I know that a great many of you out there would scream that I am an idiot. But it is a simple fact that the CBC, at least to me, is less necessary than VIA.
There are other ways governments could reduce spending – but how many of you are willing to see the subsidies that are given to professional sports eliminated? How about for immigration?
The bottom line is that the government can and will reduce subsidies to VIA because not enough people use the service!
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It seems we might see some organized opposition to the planned VIA Rail cuts:
http://www.okthepk.ca/news/2012071905.htm
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Will, I never voted for this government to cut taxes and slash services … I, like the majority of Canadians, 60% of us, did NOT give Harper any mandate. I don’t care what he believes … tax cuts have never done me or my family any good, as I only see myself spending more out of pocket in other areas that “used to be” covered, while my income shrinks …
But I agree with you and with many others … the time is now to organize for the next election to THROW these corporate welfare bums out of office.
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I love taking VIA. Comfortable seating, fast fewer stop service. However I have to question the wisdom behind the scheduling. Using this service as a commuting strategy has always been impossible unless you work at the TMX and have bankers hours. I never understood this and chalked it up to weak management. I am fairly certain if the daily service to TO from SC left .5 hours earlier in the day and left TO 45 minutes later, many more from SC, despite the increased ticket costs would use this service. Just sayin….
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