The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

2 -The Canadian Champion, Frlday, December 10, 1999 STown should revamp, not kili, bus transit: consultant By IRENE GENTLE The Champion Milton transit buses may be running on empty, but there are ways to refuel the sagging service, according to a recent consuitant's report, But reaction to the report by Chris Prentice of C.H. Prentice Consulting was mixed at thse Town' s recent community services committee meeting. Stili, thse cornmittee voted to approve the rec- ommendations, which opted to extend thse con- tract with current supplier Stock Transportation Ltd. until March 31, 2000. Thse report will go to council for final approval pnext week. Mr. Prentice was hired by the Town to study tlie systern, which lias long been under tire for being expensive and underused. With usage limping along at about 200 rides per day, there bas been speculation as to whether thse service should be scrapped altogether. But that isn't the way to go, advised Mr. Prentice, especially with Milton teetering on the verge of a population boom. "Abandoning transit would have a long-tern negative effect," he warned. "Once you take something away and try to bning it back, those people will find other means of transportation." Instead, hie recommended reviving the systemn by shoring up the current service. "Thse service is inconvenient and ineffective," "The service is inconvenient and ineffective. Ridership could be improvedl by improving service." he said. "Ridership could be improved by improving service." Currently, long, circuitous routes are too time- consuming for riders. Students are ail but non-existent on the Milton lines, despite making up to a 50 per cent share in other areas. And working people are ahlenated hy the ser- vice, which stops running before the typical business day ends, said Mr. Prentice. He suggested that transit hours be amended to 8 arn. to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays with a special student service running from approximately 8 to 9 arn. and 3 to 4 p.m. Saturday service, which is currently bare bones, should be expanded to 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., hie said. "What I'm suggesting is you retrench a little bit," saîd Mr. Prentice. He advised axing any service north of Hwy. 401 and transforming the remaining routes into a dial-a-bu.s system. *e 80 BUS USE on page 21 Deals so incedible, wà~e made a weekend out Ofit! FROM $ 399* LA-Z-BOY& SAIONARY SOFAS FROM LA-Z-BOv* BECLINING SOUS FROM $899* SOLID WOOD> BEDR0OM /DNING ROOM SM-t NO GSTi* FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY ONLY ENJOY TREMENDOUS SAVINGS ON QUALITY LA-Z-Boy FURNITURE. FONEYEAR NO DOWN PAY- MENT VPolice seekingy two mnm who scared off attacker Halton Regional Police arc trYing to tocae two mnen who came to tlhc Wi of a ySun girl being sexualiy asaumlted late 'flc 15-ycar-old reported tht on tihe evcnlng of November 26 se was grabbed by a male teen and forced bchind a towaisouae coniplex*t ecor- net of Laier Avenue and Cmmmfircial st7be& At "5 Woatsots, tise attacker began sexally asalting tise girl, but was lUWtiopt lsy two passcrsby - who baaardhrscna51ing and Rtaced tise sus- pect tot lecthse aima HIe was pursued by tise mm., but ma- aged to ludethdme ise suspect, is <Iescribed as a wite male toma He's about five-f«o- 11 witis a nuscu- larbild and blond hair. 'The two iselpful men's assistance is needcd la tie ongoing investigation, police Say. Thea mca arc bciag aslced to contact citlietHalton poti= £kt. AndreaGaynor or Det Keits Woudatra at 878-5511. ext 2418. ;Ppa SRebecca Moore C~~ ertîfied Aesthetician & Electroiog sl' e Skincare * Body 1'reatm< * Nail Care * Waxilig Servit J e Specialized Treatmeflts e Electrolysis ist enlts NOW OPEN Facial, manicure & pedicure $75.00 Create your own package 20% off Gift Certificates Available 42 Bronte St.S.Milton # 14" located ai Alter Ego Flair Images <(formalty Pat's Flair Studio.--, r~~~693- i i J1 -