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Whitby Transit Service cost each of us $3 during first 7 months in operation The Whitby Transit Ser- vice has been tossed around as a political issue in the town since it was started seven months ago. However, if the town's service is compared to the services provided in our two neighboring municipalities, the Whitby bus system seems to be holding its own. According to Les Pierce, deputy treasurer and transit liaison officer of the Town of Ajax, that community's ser- vice is running a deficit of $27,000 for the year 1980. In other words, the cost of the service there is the equivalent of $1 for every man, woman and child who resides in Ajax. On Ajax's three bus routes last year, there were 223,279 passengers. They paid 50 per cent of the total operating cost of the service. While Charterways Ltd. operates the Ajax service as it does in Whitby, the town of Ajax owns the vehicles, bringing down the operating cost. That cost presently stands at $105,850 a year. On the other hand, the Oshawa Transit Service had a deficit of $1.3 million in 1980. That means the tax- payer cost was equivalent to $6.37, approximately, for every man, woman and child in the City of Oshawa. It costs the Oshawa Public Utilities Commission, who run the service, $2.7 million a year to run the system. The seven routes serviced by 38 buses transported 3.3 million passengers in 1980. While some of this statistical information is not available on the Whitby Transit Service it is worth- while to note that the finan- cial burden on the taxpayer is not as great as it is in Oshawa. In 1980, Whitby taxpayers supported the transit system to the tune of $104,242. However, only those tax- payers residing south of Rossland Road pay part of the cost of the service. That means it costs $3.16 for every. man, woman and child of the 32,952 people living in that area. The $3.16 is for only seven months of the year, so if this figure (45¢ per month) was applied to a 12-month period, it would increase to ap- proximately $5.40 per capita. In this day and age, most people would say that $5 a year is not a lot of money. On March 16, the town's staff is expected to put before the operations com- mittee a complete report on the progress of the Whitby Transit Service to date. This report - will be all- encompassing. It will in- clude the total number of riders, - and a complete financial picture of the operation. Vol. 11, No. 9 Wednesday, March 4, 1981 24 Pages Poetrymin motion Members of the North Toronto Skating Club's precision skating team are seen here performing their routine during this past weekend's Inter- national Invitational Precision Competition hosted by the Whitby Figure Skating Club. The event, held at the Iroquois Park Arena. at- tracted 900 skaters representing 44 clubs. The precision competition was held in conjun- ction with the Eastern Ontario Sectionals. The three Whitby entrants brought home two silver and one gold medal during the day's com- petition, in the pre-novice, E.O.S. junior and E.O.S. novice categories respectively. With their first precision skating competition under their belt Donna Stell, of the Whitby Figure Skating Club, said the club is looking forward to hosting another such event again next year, if possible. For more pictures and story see page 15. -Free Press Photo by Stephen Greenaway i fw- loi