A big kerfuffle has been brewing in Winnipeg since the city announced it would increase bus fares to $2 (up from $1.85) while eliminating reduced fares for seniors and students. One report said the city hopes to raise a mere $1.1 million by implementing these Draconian measures.
Typically the city raises transit fare by a nickel every January and, though none of the ridership is happy about it most pay the extra come-uppance. Now there is open talk of revolt. People writing in to the newspaper saying: “The hell with it, I’m gonna spend $150 on a good pair of walking shoes, and I’ll never take the bus again.” Of course this isn’t much of an option for the fine people of Ft. Richmond, or the elderly and child-rearing folks who are physically incapable of hoofing it.
The mayor and his cronies all drive cars and believe that $2 is fair market value for the bus service, after all it’s still cheaper than downtown parking. The mayor and his cronies also have full-time, good paying jobs, and can afford to be cynical about the poor, since in most cases they don’t vote anyway.
Furthermore the mayor doesn’t care a rip for greenhouse emissions, has no vision for the city, other than as a great place to do business, and tends to serve up staunchly Rightist cures for our city’s continual lack of cash flow. The pain and suffering he would commit the poor and environmentally conscious to in order to raise $1 million a year is an astonishing example.
I have a better idea. This summer’s explosion of gas prices proved how committed people are to keeping their cars on the road, no matter the cost. Talk about a captive audience! Now that prices are stable again why not slap on a surtax of say $.15 every time someone puts gas in their car. Sure, they’ll hate you for it, but they’ll pay. And as the GST has proven, no matter how unpopular a tax is, once it’s instituted no future politician will ever think of it as anything other than fair and necessary. Talk about a legacy Sam.
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