One Calgary man has had a more than unfortunate experience with Calgary Transit drivers over the course of the last year.
Rob Maciak always changes the ticket machine language to French before he purchases a Calgary Transit day pass. In turn, the machine gives him a French ticket.
For over 15 years, he has run through the same routine, only now some drivers aren’t accepting the ticket.
Rob considers himself a level-headed individual who doesn’t like to fight back on issues like this one but the most recent incident occurring on Sept. 13 was one he believed was worth noting.
“I asked the bus driver if she would be willing to look up the term on her phone or on my phone and show that it does translate to Day Pass,” Maciak said. “She told me that I was being an aggressive person and she needed me to get off her bus, and she told me to go back to France or wherever the hell I came from.”
Maciak said that there were three other occasions where he went through the exact scenario over the last year.
The most recent incident prompted him to make a post on Facebook, showing others of his experience on Calgary Transit.
“Of course if I’m denied a ride on a bus then that means that I’m stuck trying to run as fast as I can to the train station so I don’t miss my next work appointment, or take an Uber or taxi, which I shouldn’t really have to do.”
Global News asked Calgary Transit about the incident.
“All customer reports are taken seriously and investigated. We have a variety of technology solutions that we use to help with our investigation, including cameras (with audio) on board our vehicles and at transit stations, and video playback of bus location and timing.”
While these issues may have left a bad taste in his mouth, Maciak says he will continue using transit and hopes that once Calgary Transit’s investigation concludes, all its drivers will understand that transit tickets are available in both English and French.