Presentation to Municipal Council Sep.26, '11

Blogger: this is the complete text of the presentation made to Municipal Council n the 26th. Pls note that on the special meeting of the 27th, Councilor Amero, who is on the board of Transport de Clarewas all for Transport de Clare, and said that *that* society that would look at the numbers. Pls read the text of the Da Bus presentation which all had heard. Then most councilors said they didn't want a study (which, of course we all know would produce the numbers). Council had been all for doing a feasibility study.
Councilor Amero also claimed that the society called Da Bus, when asked if they could provide the service said that they couldn't. Pls read the text of the presentation all heard. The society called Da Bus said they would get a wheelchair bus with funding.

In the meantime, readers, you should know that at the meeting last nite, it was revealed that your municipality is losing $180,000 each year on King's Transit and admitting that ridership has decreased approx. 29% in the past little while. In my view and that of others after the meeting (not including council) that $180,000 (multiplied by 7 years?) could be better spent on a worthwhile service like Da Bus in Digby municipality, and Transport de Clare, down in Clare, if he really needs it.
It would buy a wheelchair bus right now for the local municipality, instead of waiting for the applications for other funding to come in.

Council is thinking about spending 10,000 (more) of your municipal tax money and get 10,000 from the town of Digby tax money to give Kings Transit two more stops. Do you people from outside the town feel left out? The whole transportation discussions were originated supposedly from a concern about poor people in the remote areas. And all the while, both councils have been expressing a concern about the lack of ridership on Kings Transit. $20,000 more? when Da Bus could be bringing in the people they supposedly were concerned about from the rural areas and providing them with subsidized transportation? Are they talking out of both sides of their mouths? It would cost much less than now a proposed total of$200,000 to get a community bus for the Da Bus society that would get people from the rural areas into Digby and perhaps include the ferry and Smith's Cove area and have a successful operation from Bear River to the town. Remember, the new society called Da Bus, *wants* people to get on Da Bus! and this organization is a local one and it's all local people from this community who are on the board.
Councilor Amero, who is on the board of Transport de Clare, claimed that the Digby municipal area Da Bus is a "private" operation. HERE BE IT KNOWN: It is no more "private" than Transport de Clare.
What is going on here, folks?
Jim MacAlpine wonders how much more money should we spend on transit and transit studies, but there seems to be a distinct avoidance on the part of the pro Kings Transit study to determine the numbers that would state a need for more Kings Transit service, and now the council's apparent avoidance of any study that would determine need elsewhere also, except Amero's promotion of the society he is on that *they* would produce numbers. He was trying to say that T de C would do a good thing by producing numbers and Da Bus wouldn't- which of course, it had stated it would. But then it seemed like all council decided it did not want to determine the numbers of people who could use or would use or who need a subsidized transportation service on Digby Neck and Islands and elsewhere. Da Bus proposed providing the service to the area and collecting data while doing it. Why not? Doesn't this sound like a good idea?
12 pages of names and signatures of people in the area were provided to Warden Gregory and Deputy Warden MacAlpine of people who want subsidized transportation by a Digby area community organization (called Da Bus). It was ignored. YOU were ignored. How do you feel about that?
Your thoughts and opinions on these very strange events are welcome. Just write: goingtodigby@gmail.com and I'll post them here.




Dear Council Members
Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. I thought it would be beneficial to say a few thins tonite about the service proposed under the auspices of the Society called oDa Bus, which is a notforprofit society. It is designed to help members of our community to over come the barriers to accessing goods and services such a groceries, banks, medical appointments etc that will help them stay in this community or stay in their homes longer and helping them have a better life here.
It is not a taxi service. They cannot flag down a ride, they must phone ahead and pre-book. The service will pick people up at their door. The society will begin this service on Digby Neck and both islands. The travel from this area would go up to Digby and start the return home in mid to late afternoon.
It is a local service provided by a board of local community members and the service portion carried out by a local person. This is a useful and caring endeavour, and would be an enhancement to life in Digby County. People could stay in their homes longer, and stay in the area longer, rather than leave.
And we would rather our tax dollars stay in the community as well. If council endorses the idea of Buy Local, it would seem right to spend the locally obtained tax dollars on supporting its own community-developed initiatives. Before, there wasn’t a notforprofit transportation society in existence. There is one now.
The society as well would employ a local person who would effect the service. That person would, when the day is done, go and spend their paycheck in *this* community. The societies act permits a notforprofit society to hire or contract with someone to perform work for them. Da Bus can contract with Kathleen’s Shuttle, the existing transportation provider in the area, to kickstart the program as soon as possible, and when more funding sources are accessed, the society will buy a community wheelchair accessible bus of its own.
As the existing transportation provider in the area, I am very familiar with the area and its communities and its people. You will see by documents that I have given you that the communities all up the Neck and Islands support the proposal. And the people of Digby do too. While using my vehicle to initiate the program, I will conduct a study which will provide data on the number of calls received, the number of pickups, the approximate age group of interested people and their mobility issues, for example. The data may be easier obtained by someone who is a local in the community. And, my family has been in the area for…oh, at least a couple hundred years.
This proposal also helps the municipality avoid competing with a local business by funding a similar operation. The goal, I think, is, as the society proposes, to enhance services, and not take away from what already exists. There now seems to be a community of local officials who believe in the essence of this proposal: “I think we should respect local businesses”-deputy warden MacAlpine; the words of town Deputy Mayor Mike Bartlett in the July 19 issue of the Digby Courier about the Maud Lewis merchandise: promoting and helping and not hurting, and Danny Harvieux in the joint Annapolis-Digby initiative, much in support of buying local and using services we have.
Da Bus is a workable and *wonderful* solution to enhancement of services while avoiding taking away from services; a solution and an initiative developed within the community, by its own community members. Please see the board of directors in the documents submitted. Your support is important to Da Bus, and our community.