An end to transit strife...

...is devoutly appreciated. The deal hasn't been worked out yet, but at least the arbitration process is now underway and transit service here in Ottawa is now on its way to being restored. I had the pleasure of riding one of the first buses of the morning in my neighbourhood, and of photographing it upon its arrival at my chosen pickup stop.

Anyone who's endured either a strike or a lockout hitting their public transit system will at least partly understand the joy - yes, joy! - of seeing that first bus of the day.

That said...

As others have noticed, the price tag of this particular war of nerves is going to be with us who live here - and those of us who will be living here in the months and years ahead - for quite some time. Transit improvements that we were expecting in due course, already long-delayed, will have excuses found for further delays in getting the work done.

I am not happy with that thought. I'll be interested to see how it works out, and one of my neighbours has spoken of the idea of transit passengers forming a union of their own recently in response to the last two months' pains.

I'll be interested to see the consequences of that idea.