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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, June 20, 2012 · 12 Three-month trial for free transit day for seniors Continued from page 1 but something seniors are entitled to as they have contributed to Oakville's social and cultural advances, its economy and more. Damoff echoed Khan's sentiments stating the proposed initiative is long overdue. She also said a pilot program run by the Region to subsidize transit fares for low-income households is confusing for seniors and has not been able to keep up with the demand present within the community. The uncertainty of whether this Regional program will continue is another area of concern, said Damoff. "(Even) if the SPLIT (Subsidized Passes for Low Income Transit) program is continued and if it is simplified, and if it is expanded, as hard as Mr. Cole works he will never be able to find every senior in financial need in our community," said Damoff. "The alternative we are offering is simple and easy. It involves a walk to the bus stop one day a week. That's it. No paperwork. No lost dignity proving you are someone in need. No need to reapply. We propose a free transit ride anywhere you want to go in Oakville once a week." Damoff said besides helping seniors financially this program would help them socially as it would get them out and into the community and stop them from becoming isolated within their homes. Several councillors voiced concerns about the pilot project. Ward 4 Town and Regional Councillor Allan Elgar said he didn't like the idea of Oakville taxpayers having to subsidize public transit even more than they already are. "The transit budget is $25 million. It is a huge budget and we, the taxpayers, are already subsidizing $17.3 million of that $25 million. So we are subsidizing transit right now at a rate of 69 per cent," said Elgar. "A ticket for a senior is $1.75 if you buy a book of 10. That's not an unreasonable cost for a senior, I don't believe." Elgar said there were also other groups of people in need in Oakville, such as single parents, and noted that it's not fair for the Town to look after one group in this way and not the other. Ward 2 Town and Regional Councillor Cathy Duddeck also expressed concern the proposal was moving too quickly and said Town staff should be directed to report back on the subject. She said she is interested to know how a free transit day would affect the Town's community busing, which currently takes seniors from retirement homes to certain locations across Oakville. "We almost lost that (community busing) and Councillor Damoff and several others on council worked quite strongly to make sure we continued that. I'm concerned that later on people will say, `Well if we are giving it to them for one day then why should we do the community busing,'" said Duddeck. "You have talked about seniors living on fixed income, but for every one you have heard from, I have heard from ones who say they cannot even stay in their homes because of the tax increases. They keep saying to us at budget time, `I can't afford the increase in these taxes the way you guys are going' and as a council I thought were making conscious efforts to keep a handle on things and be very, very careful on what decisions we make that might impact that tax." Council also heard from four delegations, Monday, all of whom called for the project to be approved. Affordable Housing Advocate Garth Brown called the proposal an exciting step forward and said more people would be present speaking in favour of it if they could be there. "The people who will benefit most from it are not in this room tonight... (they are) in their homes right now and are maybe worried they will run out of money before they run out of month." Brown said the pilot project would give seniors a day to plan for and look forward to when they can freely move around Oakville. In the end, Oakville Mayor Rob Burton said a major problem with the proposed pilot project is that it would not be completed by the time the budget committee needed its information. After receiving assurances from Oakville Transit that it would be able to get the information it required during a three-month pilot project, Khan agreed to reducing the trial period's length. Burton spoke to the compromise briefly and encouraged other councillors to get on board. "I share the strong concerns that have been expressed by Councillor Duddeck and Councillor Elgar, but this keeps coming back and I am willing to try to get this to a point where we can decide once and for all with some data," he said. "I can support this and I would suggest to my colleagues who have expressed their reservations that in the spirit of cooperation we give the suggestion a try." In a recorded vote Khan, Damoff, Elgar, Burton, Ward 5 Councillor Marc Grant, Ward 5 Town and Regional Councillor Jeff Knoll, Ward 4 Councillor Roger Lapworth Ward 3 Councillor Dave Gittings and Ward 1 Councillor Ralph Robinson voted in favour of the three-month pilot project. Ward 3 Town and Regional Councillor Keith Bird, Duddeck Ward 6 Town and Regional Councillor Tom Adams and Ward 1 Town and Regional Councillor Alan Johnston voted against it. The project is expected to cost Oakville Transit around $20,000 in lost revenue during its threemonth period. The free transit day is for seniors 65 years of age and older and seniors are advised to carry proper identification in case the driver wants to verify their age. Information about the free senior transit day will be available at all Town senior centres, libraries, and on the buses. The town invites seniors to complete a questionnaire sharing their experiences during the pilot project. 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