Dear editor,

Re: Directors squabble over transit costs (Aug. 1 Record)

I can appreciate Mayor Jangula鈥檚 concern with rising taxes in Courtenay, since I just got hit with a hefty 20 per cent increase myself, and I鈥檓 on a fixed income. But his comments about transit are completely off the mark.

Suggesting that seniors don鈥檛 use transit because they鈥檒l get rides from their friends or relatives is just ridiculous.

How many of us would impose that way on other people? Some of us don鈥檛 have relatives, we鈥檙e on our own. Some of us don鈥檛 even have that many close friends, and even if we do, who would be inconsiderate or rude enough to call them up at the drop of a hat every time we want a lift somewhere?

I use the bus almost every day to get to my errands, and sometimes even twice. And sometimes for pleasure.

I鈥檇 be wearing out people鈥檚 patience pretty quickly if I kept calling up to say, 鈥淥h, I need to get to Driftwood, I ran out of onions鈥� or 鈥渃an you take me to Filberg, I鈥檇 like to walk through the park.鈥� People don鈥檛 have time for that! As for paying a 鈥榬ide service,鈥� we鈥檇 be paying through the nose just to buy a package of noodles at the supermarket, especially now that we鈥檝e lost our downtown grocery.

Perhaps there are other strategies that could be used, maybe more frequency during peak hours only, or smaller buses during slow times. But transit for seniors is essential. It鈥檚 one of the reasons we live in a city rather than a remote rural setting.

Seniors need their self-sufficiency, not dependence on favours from others. And Courtenay has a lot of seniors.

Martha Jones

Courtenay