THUNDER BAY — Fred Caputo feels not having transit on New Year's Day this year is a bad idea.
The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 966 President stressed that transit is in a crisis.
“We're trying to get the ridership back [as well as] operators on the road, and this is just a bad idea,” Caputo said on December 22nd. “This is just going to push more people away from the system. Unfortunately, we have little say in the budgetary process [but] hopefully city council rethinks this in December for Christmas Day. I'm sure they're probably getting a lot of response to this since it's been advertised.”
The service cut was approved by City Council in June as part of a series of corporate budget amendments.
“As a result, both conventional and specialized transit services will not operate on New Year's Day. The estimated budget savings for the New Year's Day service closure is $42,450,” the city said in an emailed statement.
The city added that service alerts have been posted on social media platforms, on buses and at bus terminals.
