u/Expensive-Minute994

I have lived in Ottawa for 20 years.

I started as an entry level office worker. I bought a cheap/second hand car. Parking was never a problem. I took the bus if I wanted to have a few drinks on a friday or saturday night. the university kids were all drunk on the bus. it was fine.

I loved Ottawa because it was a big city and a small town at the same time. i have a minor physical disability and it was never a problem

Now I am a team lead at a larger company. i have supposedly paid my dues and “moved up”. i know many countries are struggling with the ever increasing wealth gap so i wont talk much about it but the additional costs/deterioration of public transport (financial and other) and parking seem to be a much bigger problem here-compared to the rest of the world.

parking downtown is almost as expensive as a car payment-if you can find a spot. public transport is expensive, slow, sometimes unsafe, often dirty and extremely time consuming-and therefore exhausting. i feel sick after a long commute changing multiple busses/trains before I even start my work day. it is another story after work. i feel absolutely exhausted when i get off the train at home. i do not know how long i can keep this up.

i feel stuck. most powerful politicians are obviously not interested in fixing this mess. many of us are overworked and have no energy to protest and there seem to be no other options. public servants going back to the office for no reason doesnt help with parking/crowded busses either.

how did we get here?

isn‘t there a way out?

feeling stuck. demoralized.

long rant / cry for help

i am trying to figure out why many other countries can do public transit well while we pay billions more for this nightmare.

cities get bigger…investments in public transit, healthcare, policing, education don’t keep up. is that it? so back to income inequality and the resources going to the very top? we deserve better.

Canadian mattress in Ottawa?