Note: We may be wrong, but there could be a message here.

It's not every day that people feel they're being heard. More often than not, their simplest complaints are lost in the hubbub of daily activity. The unheeded masses could opt to protest louder and longer but sometimes it just doesn't seem worth the effort. The world moves along and humanity goes with it, muttering all the way.

But this week, somebody actually seemed to be listening. This week, and to its credit, Greyhound announced it has changed -- and improved -- its intercity bus plans in the face of passenger complaints. The company will continue to provide riders with service from the Kitchener downtown bus station where tickets will be sold and passengers picked up.

All this comes because Greyhound and Grand River Transit have negotiated a one-year, renewable contract for this operation.

This deal does not take away from Greyhound's plans to provide greater service from its new Sportsworld stop. Free parking and proximity to Highway 401 will no doubt entice many people to use that facility.

But many others have come to rely on the downtown service. Some do not have cars to even get to Sportsworld and the GRT bus link is not really up to snuff at this time.

Greyhounds plan to move its Cambridge terminal one block west is also welcome. The new location on Industrial Road has a much improved waiting area and offers more parking. That change is to take place next month.

Earlier departure times to maintain Toronto arrivals, two more express trips from Kitchener and Cambridge daily, and Internet ticketing have been designed to attract more riders. In the face of high gas prices and increased auto pollution, we applaud all of these worthwhile efforts.

It's worth noting that all of these positives came about as a result of some negatives -- a negative response to the downtown issue from the bus line's regular customers and the negative publicity that followed. A lot of anxiety and anger could have been avoided if Greyhound had talked to its customers and listened to their concerns earlier.

But far better late than never.

Reprinted from The Record of Kitchener, Ontario.