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12 Independent & Free Press,Thursday, March 18, 2010 Car stolen A 2002 Lexus SC430 valued at $21,000 was stolen from the driveway of a Johnson Cr. Georgetown home sometime between 7:30 p.m. and midnight Wednesday, Halton Police report. ··· A $15,000 high-speed video camera, a Trouble Shooter LE 500, was stolen from Fernbrook Springs Water Company on Brigden Gate, Georgetown sometime between Jan. 4 and Monday. GO fare hike hits March 20 By TIM FORAN Metroland Media Group Adult GO Transit commuters taking the train from Halton Region to downtown Toronto will be paying about four to five per cent more for 10-ride tickets and monthly passes, and students almost double that, starting Saturday, March 20. The board of directors for Metrolinx, the Provincial transportation planning agency for the GTHA which oversees GO's operations, endorsed the fare hikes at its last meeting. However, for the second year in a row Halton resident and Milton council candidate Andrew Salmons is trying to reverse the fare hike. Salmons, who has previously said he quit taking GO to his work in Toronto in June 2007 because it was often late and it was cheaper for him to take the car, has started a petition asking the provincial government to reduce the fare hikes implemented by GO since 2007. "Basically what I'm looking for is that the increases should be in line with inflation," Salmons explained. He said the 2009 and 2010 cost increases for monthly passes, about 10 per cent for Milton to Union travellers, is much higher than the inflationary rate. His petition, online at www.ipetitions.com/petition/reject_go_fare_hike_2010, had 1,730 signatures as of last month. However, GO Transit has said the fare hike is partially due to the need to pay for the extra costs it is being charged by its contractors, including CN, CP, Bombardier and PNR, and for new services it is offering. The transit agency admitted it is in the same position as other government bodies in that its employees and contracted workers have collective bargaining agreements which include wage hikes higher than the cost of inflation. Salmons said GO's workers should only be getting cost of living wage hikes and the agency should drop contractors if it can't provide keep cost increases in line with inflation. Salmons' petition asks the Province to "conduct a complete review of GO Transit's operating expenses and contracts" and "develop and implement a strategy for economically sustainable and affordable transit in Ontario." For more visit www.independentfreepress.com Local service improving The four trains departing Georgetown to Union in the morning arrived on time-- measured as arriving within five minutes of scheduled time-- 86.25 per cent of the time last year, two percentage points better than in 2008, according to statistics taken from data provided by GO Transit. However, the on time percentage for those four trains returning in the afternoon improved dramatically by 14 points, to 88.5 per cent last year from 75.5 in 2008. Both runs are below GO Transit's on time targets, which is in the low to mid 90s. The transit agency and it's parent, Metrolinx, are in the midst of several projects to improve performance and increase capacity in the corridor. That includes the scheduled widening this year of the currently single-track bridge crossing the Credit River between Georgetown and Mount Pleasant Station. GO also bought most of the rail line Georgetown trains run on last year from CN, in preparation for an expansion to the number of trains running on the line as well as between Pearson Airport and Union.