An open letter to the London Transit Comission.
Dear Sir/Madam,
On the afternoon of January 13, 2006, I was planning to take the 13 Wellington to the University of Western Ontario to rendez-vous with a few friends for coffee and a late lunch. I had deposited one of your new orange tickets into the bus's automated dispenser, and was proceeding towards my seat when - to my great surprise - the bus driver called me back.
"Your ticket is void," he said.
"Void? But I just bought these yesterday."
The driver guided me towards the opposite side of the dispenser where my bus ticket was hanging, suspended backwards in mid-drop, with the words "This side void" displayed proudly.
"Do you have any other tickets?" he asked.
I pulled out my remaining two tickets, dutifully. With the patience that one might display towards a child with Down's Syndrome he carefully explained, with short words and clear enunciation, that I had incorrectly inserted the ticket upside-down into the dispenser doohickey, and that because of this grievous geometric error my ticket was now void. I ripped off a second ticket, placed it carefully on the doohickey valid side up, and took my seat.
The reason I write to you today is simple: I would like my voided ticket returned to me.
Philosophically speaking, I do not believe this is an unfair request. If I were to have accidentally left a $1,000 bill as a tip in a restaurant, when I in fact meant to leave a $10 bill, I'm sure there would be no problem in getting my bill returned to me. The fact that the location was a city bus instead of a restaurant, the item in question was a bus ticket instead of a bill, and the recipient was a snooty and condescending bus driver instead of a restaurant employee are all incidental and should have no philosophical bearing on this matter.
Thus, I await the return of my voided bus ticket, or a reasonable facsimile thereof. All it would take is a white envelope, sent to the above address, with a single bus ticket included therein. Oh, and as I would be greatly distressed to receive an undeserved valid bus ticket, please ensure the ticket is placed in the envelope upside-down.
Sincerely,
T.
On the afternoon of January 13, 2006, I was planning to take the 13 Wellington to the University of Western Ontario to rendez-vous with a few friends for coffee and a late lunch. I had deposited one of your new orange tickets into the bus's automated dispenser, and was proceeding towards my seat when - to my great surprise - the bus driver called me back.
"Your ticket is void," he said.
"Void? But I just bought these yesterday."
The driver guided me towards the opposite side of the dispenser where my bus ticket was hanging, suspended backwards in mid-drop, with the words "This side void" displayed proudly.
"Do you have any other tickets?" he asked.
I pulled out my remaining two tickets, dutifully. With the patience that one might display towards a child with Down's Syndrome he carefully explained, with short words and clear enunciation, that I had incorrectly inserted the ticket upside-down into the dispenser doohickey, and that because of this grievous geometric error my ticket was now void. I ripped off a second ticket, placed it carefully on the doohickey valid side up, and took my seat.
The reason I write to you today is simple: I would like my voided ticket returned to me.
Philosophically speaking, I do not believe this is an unfair request. If I were to have accidentally left a $1,000 bill as a tip in a restaurant, when I in fact meant to leave a $10 bill, I'm sure there would be no problem in getting my bill returned to me. The fact that the location was a city bus instead of a restaurant, the item in question was a bus ticket instead of a bill, and the recipient was a snooty and condescending bus driver instead of a restaurant employee are all incidental and should have no philosophical bearing on this matter.
Thus, I await the return of my voided bus ticket, or a reasonable facsimile thereof. All it would take is a white envelope, sent to the above address, with a single bus ticket included therein. Oh, and as I would be greatly distressed to receive an undeserved valid bus ticket, please ensure the ticket is placed in the envelope upside-down.
Sincerely,
T.
posted by Trevor | 2:49 p.m.
1 Comments:
Seriously, I doubt even complimentary foot massages and epsom salt baths could redeem the LTC in my mind, at this point.
They should just nuke everything ever involved with it, wipe the memories of anyone who ever owned a bus pass or purchased a bus ticket, and start anew.
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