A former city councillor is respectfully questioning the efficiency of Flin Flon’s public transit system.
Dave Law attended the Tuesday, Nov. 15 city council meeting. During a question-and-answer period following the meeting, he offered his thoughts when discussion turned to the city’s previous cancellation of bus service to and from Channing.
Law, a Channing resident, agreed it didn’t make sense to have the bus go to the subdivision because ridership was low. He also spoke on the bus service in general.
“The thing is that a bus service only works if you have ridership,” he said. “And, you know, we all have our own opinions on bus service, and it is touted as being this wonderful champion of our environment, and [for being] cost-effective. I don’t see a bus driving around town with a driver in it as being a cost-effective, environmentally friendly thing. It is if the bus is full, but if it isn’t, you know, that’s a different discussion altogether.”
A number of other Flin Flonners have shared Law’s sentiment over the years, with many stating that whenever they see the city bus go by, it is usually empty or nearly empty.
But city officials have noted that a segment of the public relies on the bus and that the transit system receives 50 per cent of its funding from the Manitoba government, making it much more cost-effective than if the city were responsible for the entire tab.
Law spent 11 consecutive years on council, retiring from civic politics in 2006.
