Planes, Trains and Automobiles - Time for another rant (I know - already!) This one is about VIA Rail, the Canadian monopoly that rules the tracks in Canada with crappy service and delays. But first - this is called Planes, Trains and Automobiles, because in the space of 24hours I will have used all of these and I know that the trains I take tomorrow morning in the UK will be fantastic, unlike what we are stuck with here.

As a tree-hugger, when possible, the train is the best way to travel. It is greener than a plane and some types of car, and is also less stressful and quite civilized. Driving to Toronto is boring and can drain you (4hours on a straight highway- usually after a day at work - tires and bores me). Pearson is to be avoided at all costs and as soon as the snow starts, the Island Airport is not that reliable ... so train it is. But there is only one option: VIA; ug!

My sister is throwing herself a birthday party in December and I decided that since I have to head to Oshawa (East-end of Toronto) flying is not an option and I didn't feel like driving, so I opted for the train. I waited for two months to purchase a ticket for the second weekend in December, hoping there would be a deal, but everyone I spoke to said that chance of one so close to the holiday-season was slim-to-none. So last week, I bit the bullet and purchased an economy return. Less than 48 hours later VIA had a 60% seat-sale for my route ... so much so that for the price of my no-frills, rock-bottom ticket, I could have traveled VIA1 (I love VIA1). And can VIA do anything ... nope! Sure, the people I spoke to at both ticket sales and customer "service" sounded sorry, but they just read the rules didn't double check to see if there was anything the could do. I was told that they "don't make the rules ... there is nothing you can do, and no way to make a more formal complaint". So here is my complaint:

VIA; your customer service sucks, and the only reason people continue to travel with you is because we have NO CHOICE. You are the only rail provider along the Windsor - Quebec City corridor.

Competition! Seriously - that is what we need here in Canada in some of the core services, especially in the transportation industry. Public buses in most Canadian cities have a single operator, the service often sucks and the buses are not cheap. In Hong Kong we had numerous different companies offering public bus services, many of the popular routes had several companies serving them and because of this, buses were regular and cheap. Here there is one service provider and they can do what they want, including a six week strike in the middle of winter stranding an entire city. Sure the say that costs are going up and ridership is going down, but perhaps we should look at why ridership is declining and fix this problem - wondering if it has something to do with the general experience of taking the bus. Trains are similar - the UK has many different providers running on the same tracks and they have neat incentives for people to choose one company over another.

When traveling along the Windsor - Quebec City corridor, choosing between a plane, train or an automobile is not a fair comparison as they all have significant differences and uses (I might need my car when in Toronto, or be heading to the East-end, I might be in a rush or need the time to review documents. What we need are choices so that no matter what I choose I am not stuck with one service provider. We need companies using the same rail lines and offering real service.

Lets home that in a few short hours Air Canada doesn't disappoint on the service delivery front as well. I have to say - I am not hopeful!