Whitby Free Press, 8 Oct 1986, p. 3

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

WHIITBY FREE PRE3SS. WEDNESDAY. OCTOBER 8, 1986, PAGE 3 Study recommends expandiing Whithy- transit" By MIKE JOHNSTONý Free Press Staff The number of buses in the Whitby Transit Service should be in- and fares should be in- creasedf15mfourt ori 20 cents for seniors and students. These are just two of the recommendations contained in a study on Whitby's transît service carried out by M.M. DIion Ltd. of Toronto. The study recommen- ds the system be in- creased to five routes from the present system's four routes and four buses. "1Altbough ail four routes serve the down- town core area the routes are basically large and often incon- ventent one-way loops whlch are time con- suming for rnany passenger trips," states th eotas a basis for The new routes recommended in the report would have round trips reduced froni one hour to 30 minutes and, where a round trip takes one hour, two buses would be used. As well the new routes would only require three buses to operate during off peak hours. "The newly developing areas north of Rossland Rd. would be served and some ex- pansion to other areas la possible with no extra cost to the system. The running tiaxes are reasonable and can ac- commodate minor delays with no adverse effect to the overafl schedule,"' states the report about the new routes. The most, significant proposed change would be a bus which would rua along Dundas St, every hall hour from Thornton Rd. to White Oaks Crt. The study states the new routes would focus more service on the major passenger generating areas, which the study bas concluded are the downtown core, the Woolco Mail com- mercial area and the WhiteOaks apartmento. As well, the proposed routes would provide better service to both Anderson and Henry St. Higb Sehools which -make up the biggest percentage of riders, (61 percent). The new routes could also easily be revised to provide service to the new GO station at Hwy. 401 and Brock St. accor- ding tothe report. The station whicb la expected to be bult in late 1988 or early 1989 is expected to double the ridership on Whitby Transit. It is also expec- ted that when the station opens the' Whitby Tran- sit Service will have to be increased to,14 buses. Increasîng the fares will help curb '- the an- nually increasing municipal cost, states the report. At present the fares are 60 cents for aduits, 35 cents for children and 40 cents for seniors and students. The study recommends the fares be increased to 75 cents for aduits, 40' cents for children and 60 cents for seniors and students. The study estimates the increased rates would save the, town $57,000 next year assuming ridership a remains stable if the new routes are - ap-r proved by council. The transit service P'ost the Town of Whitby $216,000 la 1984, $226,000 in 1985 and in 1987 it la expected to cost $315,000. By increasing the fares the 1987 cost to the town is expected to be decreased to $258,000. The study also estimated that when the 'Whitby Transit System hooks up .with* the GO Station the municipal cost will alniost double, despite higher fares. It therefore suggests that fares be revlewed an- nually and adjusted witb increased municipal costa and in- flation. The study fouad that the complaints most people had with the ser- vice were buses not running on time, in- frequent service and smoking not being allowed on the buses. The- study noted corn- pliments had been made regarding the drivers and the service. Other recommen- dations of the study in- clude: *the retention of a bus loop at the north end of Goodfellow St. in Otter Creek.,' *the Dundas St. bus travelling to the front door of Fairvlew Lodge. for a trial period of six months. Presently residents of the Lodge have to 'walk across Dundas St. to catch a bus going into town. The study estimates the drlveway is large enough to accomimodate the buses but the bus stop would only be in operation from 9 a.m. to 3 P.M. .retaîning the bus terminal on Coîbourne St. beside the Fire Hall. *separate study be See pg.1 Thanksgiving deadline changes Next Monday, Oc- tohar 13, the Whitby Free Press offices will be closed for Tbanksgiving and al advertising and editorial deadlines have been rnoved up so that, our staff can. enjoy the holiday.weekend. The deadline for edit 'orial« copy. and classified ads will ha Friday, at n oon. Ail display advertising must be in to our offices no later than 3 p.m. on Friday.' Ail submnissions for sporting events which take place .prior to Friday must ha submit-' ted by Friday nôon but coverage of weekenid evenits maybebrougbt- in first thing T7uesday. morning. Late sub- missions will be beld un- tii the Issue of October 22 when we will resume our normal deadlines. The, Free Press regrets, any incon- venience these changes may, cause for our con- tributers and wishes eveiryoner_ a safe and hapjy Thanksgiving. Hydrostrike into it's second month Now well lato the sec- ond month of their strike, Whitby Hydro workers are no dloser to settling their dispute with their employer than they were wben they walked off the job August 25, according to International Brother- hood of Electrical Workers ,Local '636 business manager Lor- ne Barr. "lWe haven't had a meeting with (management) since August 29 and there bais been no movement to cali one," said Barr Friday. The union spokesman said he had a cail last week from the provin- cial mediator who said he would try and arrange a meeting with management sometime hafore the end of Oc- tober. Whitby Hydro general manager Tom May said on 'friday, however, that he had yet to hear from the mediator. According to May, the offer made by the utility during the mediation talks la "Ivery close" to its final offer. "The perentage in- crease they're looking at la considerably more than the rate of inflation and it's not realistic. We had a very good offer on the table, close to a six percent increase, when the talks broke down," said May. Meanwhile, Barr said the workers are stili adament in their demanda for parity witb Ajax Hydro workers. A journeyman lineman with Ajax Hydro earns $17.39 an hour while in Whitby they earn $15.90. "And the Ajax con- tract expires in March s0 we'll fail behind again. These people do the sanie work and yet you could have a problem where two mien are working on the same pole and one would be making well over a dollar an hour more," said Barr. Barr said he expects the strike will ha two months old hafore another meeting with management la arranged. In the interim the union la paying al the workers' hanefits plus they are receiving strike assistance. "I think the, workers are probably getting by. We try and do our best to loo k after tbem, " said Barr. The union spokesman said management has been "lucky" so far with the weather and have not. yet had any problenis keeping the system operational. Ac- cording to May, new services are still haing installed but no major clonstruction la haing undertaken and main- tenance la only haing carried out as necessary. "We've had no real service problems. I Beautiful Thick Cut &Loop 100% Nylon by Peerles9a s;123 l200 sq. yd.» MIDWAY CARPET SAVES YOU $$$ on Beautiful Coroleu NOWax CongIeuu~ V' yFlooring Miwa . e S []z Jîist flori HOURS: Mon.-Wed. 9-6 Thurs.-Fri. 9-9 aot. 9-a iot the 40U suppose there is a cer- tain amount of luck in- volved but the system la in good' shape," said May. Harbour' tragedy A, 37-year-old Whitby woman la dead after ber car drove off the pier at the Whitby Harbour on Monday around 12:40 p.m. 1Police removed the car sbortly after it en- tered the water and the woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Police suspect no foui play. .wo MANSWORK., Do you manage your money as Weil as you manage your career or' household ?A plan that meets your financial goals wiill ensure that you get the most from every dollar you eamn - today and in the future. 1 can help tailor a plan to suit you financial'needs and goals. CalJ me today. .\... NADEGEWEBB 434-8400 a Ivst DO YOU want a heating supplier that wiIa " Reduce Vour heatlng bill by 25%-50% - Inexpensively? " Replace Vour furnace, If necessary - free 0f Charge? " Perform anefflclency test on.your furnace - free 0f -charge? " Guarantee contlnuous heat - 24 hours, 7 days per week? "Off er the most attractive payment terms? Is the only company in Durham that wIII guarantee al of this. BUT YOU MUST CALL BEFORE OCT. 1 5TH P.S. If you've paid for a service plan ta another company, cai us before Oct. l5th andwve wilI honour that plan at no extra cos t ta you Plus, we will ins ure your furnace and tank ý-free of charge. Maklng winter more Bearable - since 1902 Cail today 723-4663 313 Albert St. Oshawa, .lit.,,! - 1305 Harwood Ave.N., Aax683>-6ý126 iý zzý ý'

Powered by / Alimenté par VITA Toolkit
Privacy Policy