GO Transit celebrates the Million Kilometre Man
Hamilton resident Louie Wu has been travelling on GO Transit for 30 years.
Dec 5, 2018
Louie Wu has travelled the equivalent of going to the moon and back.
And he’s been asleep for most of it.
Hamilton resident Wu has been making the 140 kilometre round-trip commute to downtown Toronto five days a week for 30 years.
Now, the avid runner and math whiz has come to one epic conclusion – as of this month, he’s travelled a million kilometres with GO Transit.
“I run every day,” Wu said. “I track all my mileage, so one day I calculated the kilometres of my commute. I think it’s 80 kilometres every day, 35 times a month. If you do the math it just happens to be over a million (kilometres) today.”
The distance from earth to the moon is about 380,000 kilometres. That means Louie has been to the moon and back – and almost there again.
Travelling the same way for three decades means Wu has developed certain habits. He always sits either in the third or fourth row from the front – in the aisle, not the window seat – and he crams in a cat nap before heading to his job downtown.
Hamilton resident Louie Wu is celebrated for the many kilometres he’s accumulated on GO Transit over three decades. (Amanda Ferguson photo)
“I get a nice nap on the bus every morning, a solid one hour catch-up nap,” Wu said.
“And then the same in the afternoon.”
Today, Metrolinx surprised Wu with balloons and a plaque commemorating his millionth kilometre as he got off the bus at Union Station.
Laurie Stratton, senior manager of bus operations for GO Transit, said Wu is in good company. Many people have been riding with GO for decades from throughout the GTHA.
She says it’s also important to recognize bus drivers like Glenn Ryan. He’s been driving for GO Transit for 30 years and he’s often the man responsible for getting Wu downtown each morning.
“It’s amazing,” Stratton said. “Congratulations to Louie on 30 years and more than a million kilometres riding GO bus. We’re delighted he chose GO Transit to safely get him from his home to work for his entire career..”
Surprisingly, Wu says his commute hasn’t changed much over 30 years.
“These guys are great, the bus drivers,” Wu said. “It gets me here in less than an hour in the morning and in the afternoon it’s a little longer. I just chose this commute and 30 years has gone by so fast.”
GO Transit, bringing him the same restful sleep as he enjoyed back in 1988.
by Amanda Ferguson Metrolinx senior advisor media relations & issues
