Sir: Re: VIA cuts in Chatham – there are enough people getting on and off the VIA train in Chatham. It makes no sense to replace ticket personnel with automated kiosks. What will happen is that people will take the bus instead. There will also be more cars on the highway. This is a bad decision and will eventually remove train service.
Why is VIA cutting back? There must be other means to force them to change their minds; petitions, etc. I used to travel VIA a great deal. I am glad this did not happen earlier. It is a bad, bad decision.
VIA is the best and quickest transportation route, and the most direct to London, Windsor, Toronto, etc. As I see it, our mayor, Randy Hope, is not doing anything much. He certainly isn’t putting himself out or making an effort. I don’t know what else can be done not working in politics, but you can put the pressure on VIA to change their minds.
I found the VIA ticket office a great convenience as I needed to ask questions sometimes, and there always seemed to be plenty of travellers using the ticket office and the station.
Buying tickets online is not for me. I don’t have a computer. I do not like buying online. I suppose now with technology we shall have to buy or develop ways and fly to London or Toronto.
This is really bad for Chatham. They will be cutting the number of trains serving Chatham next, down to one or two a day. They are paving the way for Chatham to shrink.
Freda Zych
Chatham
