In 1967, GO transit carried 2.5 million passengers. Today, it carries 50 million.

Mr. Cartwright cannot know what we have endured over the past years since he no longer takes GO Transit. The trains are constantly late in the rush hours.

He suggests that Ms. Eales has options such as "driving, taking the bus, using a taxi, moving closer to work or obtaining a job in the Oakville area." None of these suggestions are realistic. We, too, would love to work and live in Oakville, but this is not a viable option. There are no jobs in Oakville to be had in our area of work.

We choose not to drive into Toronto and add to the already traffic-clogged roads. This is why we chose to use public transit.

Taking a taxi is a wonderful solution - if someone has an extra $20 or more a day to pay for a taxi to and from the GO station. The buses often run late and arrive after the train has left. Buses also are not the answer for many of the GO transit commuters. Many commuters have commitments after they get back to the GO station after work and if the trains are late the buses have already left and commuters must wait for the next bus.

Perhaps Mr. Cartwright did not have children to pick up at daycare, medical appointments to get children to, after school practices/activities to get children to, etc. These activities do not allow extra time to get home via a bus.

When his train was late or 'not moving', Mr. Cartwright wrote that he could "sleep, daydream" etc. or "read a few more pages of my interesting book."

That all sounds wonderful -- but not on today's trains. We wonder if Mr. Cartwright would feel the same way about GO Transit had he been on the express train a few weeks ago on a Friday night. The 4:10 express train out of Union was cancelled with no reason given. We were told to get on an already full train on the track beside us.

We arrived at the Bronte station over an hour late with little or no explanation from GO as to the cause. We doubt there was one passenger on that overly-crowded train who had the same warm, fuzzy feeling that Mr. Cartwright seems to have in relation to GO.

The need for reliable service from GO Transit is what Ms. Eales is trying to raise awareness of. She is not alone -- more than11,000 people have signed her petition, Mr. Cartwright.

Laura Sheremeta, Ruth Wright