And the Darwin award goes to…

…the person/persons/committee  within the city of Surrey who decided to remove over 200  bus SHELTERS from the streets – just in time for winter.

But first, what is a shelter, anyways? ( humour me – methinks someone in the city doesn’t know those little huts served a vital function during the winter here on the coast)

shelter [ˈʃɛltə]

2. the protection afforded by such a cover; refuge3. the state of being sheltered

2. (intr) to take cover, as from rain; find refuge3. (tr) to act as a shelter for; take under one’s protection

Ahhhh! That explains it all. Obviously  a bus shelter is a good thing  – a crucial factor in the quality of life of individuals,at least on a temporary basis. And oddly enough, I thought something was going on around town, but I’ve been so busy it passed right through my mind- until ten minutes ago, when I saw this :

http://www.theprovince.com/Calling+transit+users+Surrey/2290241/story.html

Yep, no new shelters until the end of February. 

While this may seem trivial to some of you, it certainly is anything but to all the elderly people who rely on transit throughout the year, nor is it trivial to the all the mothers with children, the thousands of students, as well as the rest of us who choose to take transit for a variety of reasons like not having to worry about parking.( Like me!)

 I’m hardly poor,but I choose to take transit all the time rather than deal with parking lot fee’s etc. , and I do it with my two little kids. Setting an example and all that. It’s bad enough that the buses run every half hour in some areas, now we have to endure it out in the open too? Come on!

I’m guessing the person who scheduled this job in the dead of winter has likely never waited a moment for a bus in the cold, driving rain and wind, or snow, where the shelter can mean the difference between simply being cold and  a little uncomfortable,or being  downright sopping wet, blue and freezing your ass off.

After all, there is a  pretty damned good reason it is called a SHELTER!!!! So, to the person who came up with the timing and delivery of this latest endeavor –  and on behalf of all transit users in Surrey –  may I say this:

You, sir or madam, are a doofus.