The “bread and butter customers” of Guelph Transit are getting a chance to meet eye to eye with the man that runs the service this month.
Guelph Transit general manager Rob Gerus, along with other members of the management team, are hitting the platform at Guelph Central Station to hear from those that ride the busses.
“I call them the bread and butter customers, because they’re here every day. They’re going to work,” Gerus said Wednesday morning as he chatted with people downtown starting at 8 a.m.
“It’s not all about university kids or just the hub. The bread and butter riders go to work every day, they don’t have a car and they don’t want to be late.
“I learned a long time ago that if you want to know how your business is operating, you ask the customers. That’s what this is about,” said Gerus, who worked for the Toronto Transit Commission for 30 years before coming to Guelph.
“All this really is, is a meet and greet. This isn’t anything formal. We’re not presenting anything. We’re just talking.”
It was the third time management have been out. Four more visits are planned this month.
Gerus said it’s important for Guelph Transit to be transparent with riders.
“If we cancel routes we have to make sure we cancel the right ones. We have to be transparent with our customers. We’ve got to make sure we get notices out there, that there’s an awareness,” Gerus said.
“Because if you do it at the last minute it’s an inconvenience to our customers, and that’s our business. If you listen to our customers, those are the kind of things they’re concerned about.”
More drivers are being hired and trained to help reduce the number of dropped and late routes.
The management visits to the platforms are not part of the city’s ongoing service review of Guelph Transit, nor are they connected to any new route plans. Gerus said it’s just a chance to hear what people are saying and to let people have their say.
Staff will also be visiting the University of Guelph transit hub once the students return and Gerus would like to do other visits to specific locations that feature particular riders, such as Stone Road Mall or seniors’ residences.
“At least they’re here and willing to listen to us,” said Paul Smith as he waited for his bus to go to work.
“It’s frustrating as hell when a bus doesn’t show up. At least now I told the boss about it,” he said.
Another man explained to Gerus that he got a warning at work for being late after route issues with his bus.
“We have to own that,” Gerus said.
“I have to make sure that my staff understands that our customers are our base and when they’re telling us that they need to know when things are cancelled and for what reason, we need to be transparent with them and they’ll understand.
“They might not like the answer they’re given, but my job here at Guelph Transit is to make things better,” said Gerus, who replaced Mike Spicer as GM earlier this year when Spicer left for a job in Halifax.
Gerus had been working in management in Guelph Transit when promoted.
“If I don’t have the answer, I’ll find the answer for you,” he said.
“Worst case scenario, we may agree to disagree for the time being and the long range expansion plan, the decisions we make will be the best interest of our customers because we want to make our customers happy.
“That’s why we’re here, to listen to the customers.”
