Hey Bus Driver! Where are you going?

Ah Podunk, your businesses may be closing, your industries stumbling and your people leaving, but the good fight must still be fought. Never mind economic renewal, attracting new industry or giving some hope to your population, it's time to settle some old scores! Podunk council has finally come to a decision to relocate the bus terminal for Air Canada Jazz. It was only a few short years ago that the council of the day chose to take the air traveler away from the centre of town and out to the fringe of the downtown core to catch a bus to the airport. We used to be dropped off at the main shopping mall, then we moved out the edge of the downtown area, now it’s coming back to the centre ( are you dizzy yet). But not without a lot of bitterness, accusations of favoritism and of course a lot of cynicism .

First a little background, for those not familiar with the routine of leaving or arriving in Podunk. To get the hell out of Dodge, one must take on the travels of John Candy in Planes, Trains and Automobiles. You board a bus (at whatever location Podunk has decided to send you to, this year), take a boat across a harbor then board your airplane, approximate travel time is roughly 45 minutes from airport to bus stop, your wallet emptied by 11 dollars (soon to go up).

Needless to say it’s a tad inconvenient to make your way to your flight. You just can’t drive out to the airport prior to flight time; you have to put as much planning on the trip to the airport as in the trip itself. Hell, the trip to the airport is almost as long as the trip to Vancouver!

Into this we add the confusion of Podunk council. The previous council moved the arrival/departure stop to a new development in the trendy area of town, one which is soon to be home to cruise ship visitors arriving by the boatload. It was all part of making that area a “destination location” for Podunk. Less than three years later, with the first of the big cruise ships yet to arrive we are abandoning the newly constructed terminal, instead dropping air passengers off at the sidewalk of the downtown High rise hotel. And for the most part, the traveling public is pleased at the change. Long tired of being dropped off in the middle of nowhere (as described by some) locked out of the terminal building by staff long since gone home, most folks figure that at least the Hotel will be open 24/7 and have a payphone to use.

The choice of the drop off and pick up site however has its critics. The owners of the towns high end hotel are more than a little upset that air travelers are going to be dropped off at the front door of their main competitor, without a stop at their establishment. The Port Corporation which runs the about to be vacated terminal, is puzzled at the Podunk Council’s commitment to the idea of a strong welcoming image. And Air Canada Jazz is not happy, advising that they have no plans to open up an office in the hotel (which is home to the rival airline in the area by the way) informing the City of Podunk that they can take out the newspaper ads to tell of the change. The mayor of Podunk, a former employee of the old Canadian Airlines organization, has hardened views on Air Canada Jazz's attitudes towards Podunk, getting quite agitated in council one night over the situation.

One does wonder about Podunk councils thought process on the whole issue. If they truly believe that the old location was not a suitable place for 30 or 40 air travelers to arrive at, then why have they chosen it to be the location for hundreds if not thousands of cruise ship passengers to arrive? Of course the bus stop issue, is just one of the underlying issues in Podunk, many Podunkians feel the cruise ship terminal itself is going in the wrong location, that it should have been located much closer to the downtown area.

Turning the Podunk’s words against them they ask; if a couple of buses of air passengers cause such gridlock and parking turmoil at the terminal, what will happen when the big boats arrive. If the air traveler thought they were dropped off in the middle of nowhere, what will the wealthy cruise traveler think of little ole Podunk? We’ll all find out in less than two months, instead of cutting ribbons that day, perhaps Podunk’s mayor can start directing traffic