[homeles_ot-l] Fwd: URGENT Notice of "Special Transit Committee Meeting" Please Plan To Attend!

Fri Feb 6 07:37:14 EST 2009

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Catherine Gardner <catherinegardner at magma.ca>
Date: 2009/2/5
Subjec

 *Urgent Notice!*

* *

*"Special" Transit Committee Meeting*

*Monday, Feb. 9th at 1:30*

*City Hall, Andy Haydon Hall*

* *

*Please forward*

* *

Dear Community Members,

Community members are urged to attend a "Special" Transit Committee meeting
taking place at City Hall on Mon. Feb. 9th at 1:30.

On Wed. Feb. 4th Alain Mercier, General Manager of OC Transpo presented the
roll out of buses and compensation plan to members of the Transit Committee
where members of the public were not allowed to speak but were told they
could address their concerns at a "Special Transit Committee" meeting which
is scheduled to take place on Mon. Feb. 9th at 1:30 p.m.
http://www.ottawa.ca/cgi-bin/docs.pl?Elist=12793&lang=en

*Some Important Issues Which Need To Be Addressed!*

* *

*Dec.** Pass** holders:*

Regular passes will be valid until *March 31st*

Express, Rural, the Eco Pass, Senior and Community passes valid until *Apr.
30th*

* *

*Special note for Seniors / Community Pass holders who use Para*

Please note that at the present time Para Transpo is refusing to honour the
Dec. passes! I am encouraging all Senior and Community Pass holders who use
Para to show their pass with the top up of one ticket (2 tickets before
9:00). The driver will write you up as a no fare.  *We are hoping to have
this issue addressed at the meeting on Monday.*  Para is refusing on the
grounds that they say Para was still running, however many Senior /
Community Pass holders could not get bookings and or could not afford the
top up fee!

*Annual** Pass** holders / Cash / Ticket Fares:*

There was no compensation other than the free period from Feb. 7th – Feb. 15
th and weekends in Feb.

* *

*Feb.** Pass** prices:*

Adult $28.25

Student monthly pass $22.00

Senior and / Community passes $10.75

*Pass Refunds:*

Anyone looking for a refund on their passes can go to any of the City of
Ottawa Client Service Centres as well as any of the OC Transpo Client
Service Centres (St. Laurent, Rideau Centre, Lincoln Station, Place
D'Orleans, however refunds will only be available until Feb. 15th.  Please
note that at the City of Ottawa Client Service Centre they were asking for
identification which could create a challenge for anyone looking to take in
passes for group home members and or family members.

*Roll out of buses:*

Many main routes will be returning with full service on Mon. Feb. 9th,
however many areas which have local service will not be seeing service
during the morning or afternoon rush hour.

What is going to happen to students who rely on regular transit services
(not 600 series) to get to and from school and who will not have peak hour
service?

What will happen to persons with developmental disabilities who follow a
strict routine and who get out to their stop only to find out the last bus
home is full and their next bus is not for up to 4 hours?

What is going to happen to parents with young children including those with
strollers, seniors and or persons who use assistive devices who cannot board
buses due to the lack of space and that bus may be the last bus in order to
meet up with their last connection to their local bus for up to 4 hours.

What is going to happen to those who rely on Personal Support Workers and or
Community Nurses for their care and who will see their workers unable to get
to them because their bus is not running.

What is going to happen to those who are not able to find parking spaces at
the Park and Ride or downtown?  What is going to happen with the number of
cars, buses, bikes and pedestrians?  There are many more examples…

*City cancelling van rentals and taxi chits for Community Resource Centres
Feb. 6th*

I received an email today informing me that funds for van rentals used by
Community Resource Centres to assist their community members affected by the
strike will be cancelled by the City at 11:59 Friday night (Feb. 6th).  It
is my understanding that taxi chits will only be available to those who do
not have any bus service at all such as those in rural areas.

*Quantity vs. Safety!*

On Feb. 5th, Premier Dalton McGuinty announced that he would extend the
expiry date of buses requiring recertification by one month in order to put
more buses on the road.  I am not sure about anyone else but I have grave
concerns about having vehicles which may not pass the certification test on
the road.  I also have concerns about buses not being covered under the
insurance if the vehicle is involved in an accident!

Mayor O'Brien stressed that safety was one of the key issues in the strike
which kept our buses off the street, yet buses which may not pass the safety
certification may be put back on the road!

*Mr. Mercier adds insult to injury!*

Mr. Mercier announced at the meeting that OC Transpo will be contracting out
some of their buses for the next three weeks for Winterlude.  Seeing as how
some people do not have service should OC not be protecting their buses in
case some end up breaking down and end up out of service come Monday
morning?

Mr. Mercier also announced that bus service to Scotiabank Place for
concerts, hockey games etc will be resuming on Feb. 14th.  Some of these
buses heading to Scotiabank will be on the road at the same time as rush
hour buses yet many trying to get home from work will still not have their
buses back in service until April 6th.

According to media reports Councillor Cullen feels that the way the buses
are being reintroduced is acceptable.

*Senior and Community Pass holders* are being encouraged to come out and
demand equal access to their December pass extension on Para with the
regular top up. These pass holders purchased their pass because they planned
to use the OC conventional service and were forced by the City and OC to
rely on Para a service which many were not even able to access either
through lack of availability or because they could not afford the top up
fee. OC Advertizes on their site that the community pass is valid with a top
up yet Para says they will not honour the pass which both OC and the City
has extended until Apr. 30th.

*All members of the public* are encouraged to attend the meeting and to
address the Transit Committee members of your concerns.  If you are unable
to attend then please contact your Councillor or call 311 and voice your
concerns!

Thank you,

Catherine Gardner

Community Advocate, www.catherinegardner.ca

Cans for Pets Recycling Program www.cansforpets.ca

Freelance Photojournalist, www.pbase.com/catherinegardner

(613) 726-3609 (Voice / TTY)

[image: Northern Hawk Owl Photo]

-- 
Terrie ( mocharebyl at gmail.com )
"If you see an injustice being committed, you aren't an observer, you are a
participant." June Callwood
Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and
renders the present inaccessible.  Maya Angelou
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://list.web.net/lists/private/homeles_ot-l/attachments/20090206/510fd3df/attachment-0001.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 8164 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://list.web.net/lists/private/homeles_ot-l/attachments/20090206/510fd3df/attachment-0001.jpeg>