The bus depot agents at North Battleford's Greyhound station were before city council Monday looking to set the record straight about their hours of operation.
Ann and Larry Galay made clear they were not happy about what had been said at previous council meetings. Councillor Grace Lang had inquired about a recent situation where passengers had to wait outside the depot for buses to arrive, and voiced concern about the situation possibly happening again during the cold winter months.
Ann Galay, who spoke during most of the presentation to council, was upset that neither Lang or other City representatives had contacted her about the situation before "false statements" were put in the newspaper, as she put it, speaking of "a number of errors that have been put in the paper by councillors."
"I'm a little upset with what's been going on with council meetings, what's been put in the paper, without anyone addressing us prior to anything being put in the paper."
Galay told the councillors the bus schedules are common knowledge and as for other issues, they could have been called, she said.
Among the news items Galay took issue with was the report that it was confirmed to the City that the buses run late 50 per cent of the time.
"No," she said. "The buses are running late off and on during the winter because of road conditions and weather conditions. We don't know when that happens, but never did I say 50 per cent for sure."
Galay also took issue with the news report that the depot wasn't open on weekend evenings. She said that while they were closed Saturday evening, they were in fact open Sunday evening until 8 p.m. - or whenever the bus arrives if it happens to come in later. If there are no passengers there, the staff is allowed to close up and go home, she said.
Galay did admit there had been a previous incident some time before involving one of their staff. Passengers had, in fact, been locked outside by a member of the staff at the time, and the staff member was reprimanded for it.
"It won't happen again," she said, saying the employee "knows better than that."
She finally said that she had been working with Greyhound to get the bus depot open for extra hours and said she got word that day that Greyhound would indeed cover costs to allow the depot to be open for extended hours over the winter months to accommodate the need, beginning Dec. 15.
Councillor Ron Crush tried to smooth over any ill-feelings at the end of her presentation, saying he appreciated the service they provided and "your contribution to the community."
