Peace River's innovative transit system is finished, and this was abruptly brought home tonight when I spoke with a young couple who have relied on the bus for years. They are tremendously disappointed with this decision by our Town Council. In fact, I haven't spoken with anyone in weeks who thought this was a good idea. The Chamber of Commerce didn't think it was a good idea. Just who is Council listening to, besides the taxi drivers?
And as of tomorrow, the lives of this couple will once again contract to the East side of the river, to wherever they can get to by foot (he will push her in a wheelchair), and finding rides from others. Gone is the freedom and dignity they've enjoyed to choose when and where they went in this sprawling town, for an affordable price.
They and others will have to scramble to find rides to work, to college, to daycare, to get groceries, to get to the doctor or hospital. Back to having to depend on friends, scrounging rides as they can get them, or paying expensive cab fares.
And if Deputy Mayor Darling's still-in-development plan is eventually implemented, they may have the opportunity to get subsidized taxi passes if they can prove they belong to some less fortunate group that he has deemed worthy of this help.
How demeaning and disempowering. "Here's my T4 to prove I'm among the working poor;" "Here's my AISH status, my birth certificate ...") On the bus, everyone was equal and you didn't have to prove you were eligible to ride.
And now our Mayor is trying to blame staff because there hasn't been a "seamless transition" to some as-yet-to-be-decided alternative. How noble.
Has there been clear direction to staff from this Council in the form of a motion? Has Council ever clearly articulated to the public that the Town was working on something to replace the bus--if so, this is news to the riders and the concerned members of the Peace River Transit Stakeholder's Group. Why was Deputy Mayor Darling dabbling with an "enhanced" taxi pass scheme if staff had been directed to do this? And why did NADC withdraw from doing a proper a transit study? So many questions, so few real answers. So much for transparency.
What a sad day for our town--Peace River was actually starting to look like a progressive place that welcomed all kinds of people and considered the quality of life for everyone. Now? Not so much.
2 comments:
The decision to stop the Bus was clearly a decision made by privileged people who care very little for the lower class citizens of this town. I was not reliant on the bus to get to and from work and because of this my opinion on the matter was very clearly dismissed. However, we all have a right (and indeed a responsibility) to care for and speak up for those who are less privileged then we are.
Taxi passes? Really? There aren't enough taxis in town to ensure everyone is getting to work on time. This summer won't be too bad but next winter there are many, many people who are going to suffer a great deal because of this truly foolish decision.
I don't know about you but I'm fairly certain this Council and Mayor will be remembered for the great damage they did to the lower class citizens of this town more so then for anything else they manage to do during their term.
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