The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

durhamregion.com THE CANADIAN STATESMAN ♦ October 11,2006 ♦ Page A7 Special transit fare approved by council Pass will be a six-month pilot project BY ERIN HATFIELD Staff Writer DURHAM - A special transit fare for Ontario Disabilities Support Program Program (ODSP) recipients will soon be in place. Durham Regional Council decided to go ahead with the reduced fare program, even though Durham Region Transit (DRT) staff did not recommend recommend it because of the unfunded cost and potential legal and eligibility concerns. concerns. Staff said they need to determine the long-term impact .of the program. "We need to have some operations experience to determine what the impact of this program will be," said Neil Killens, DRT's deputy general manager of transit. "The issue is lqst revenue from riders that currently pay the full rate." But council voted to go ahead with 'We are absolutely trilled. That is a huge chunk of money out of their monthly income; it really makes a big difference for them.' -- Terri McCabe the special fare for now. "We want to-gel it going and we want to do it fair and we want to do it right," Oshawa Councillor April Cullen said. Beginning Nov. 1, ODSP recipients will be able to purchase reduced fare monthly transit passes equal to DRT's seniors monthly fare of $25. The pass will be a six-month pilot project, however the monthly fare will increase to $35 in January when the seniors rate rises. A group of clients from Oshawa-Clar- ington Community Living have routinely routinely attended council meetings since March, they said, hoping to emphasize the need for a special fare for Durham residents living with intellectual dis abilities and on fixed incomes. A dozen of them were present when the motion passed at Regional Council Oct. 4. "I wanted to get up and applaud them," said Terri McCabe. "We are absolutely trilled. That is a huge chunk of money out of their monthly income; it really makes a big difference for them." As the outcomes manager for Osha- wa-Clarington Community Living,. Ms. McCabe supports 60 clients with intellectual disabilities who live on their own in the community. DRT is the only municipal transit provider in the Greater Toronto Area to institute this type of program. "We will be identifying locations where they can go and register and then they can go to their normal point of purchase," DRT deputy general manager Phil Meagher said. The estimated cost of the program, $200,000, will be funded through the social services budget and the Province Province will be asked to provide a subsidy for the program under the existing ODSP program. The reduced fare program will be reviewed in 2007. 'Your Family Matters" Kingsway Arms at Clarington Centre 65 Clarington Blvd. • (905) 697-9992 www.kingswayarms.com • email: tbudden.kams@rogers.com A SMART CHOICE For Today's Senior Retirement Suites With Amenities Ask About Oiir Short Term and Trial Stays RSS Content Feeds newsdurhamregion.com All-brick, ALL-AROUND ALL THE HOMES. Kingsfield s A SEMI-PRIVATE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF 52 |: ALL-BRICK HOMES. OPENING SOON IN OSHAWA. t'i [ Register now for Priority Preview. 1 -866-302-441 9 . WWW.MARSHALLHOMES.CA What's going on in your community? 0eventsdurhamregion.com Saturday, October 14 th 10:00am - 6:00pm Featuring a variety of dealers from across Canada. mk 1aja: Get with a great network and stay connected to your peeps. ' Everyone wants to stay in touch.That's why if we happen to drop even 1 % of your calls on our wireless network, well credit your account.* So get where the going's good and get all our future, friendly® promises. >*■ TELUS S3 o For the full description and conditions of our future friendly promises, visit your TELUS store, authorized dealer or retailer, visit telusmobility.com/promises or call 1-866-264-2966. ♦Applies to PCS and Mike clients on monthly rate plans as follows: credits will be calculated annually fof dropped calls if 1% or mofe of your total calls connected are dropped byTH-US: you must call the same number back within one minute and ranain connected for at least 30 seconds in onder for \-our original call to be recogniied as dropped: credits wiil te applied annual^ and tsabla in tha moith applied; each ctsdit v.ill te equal to at least era n>'nuta of ' airtime lor each dropped call. Applies to Pay 5 Talk clients in the seme manner as above except that each credit mil be equal to at least $0.25 for each dropped call. Applies to mobility voice network only. Not applicable for paging. Direct Connect, Instant Talk, U.S. and international teaming and ont of coverage areas. Credits are ncrvrefimdable and nen-transferabie and cannot te shared between clients. Offer may he improved at any merer: cr-d is stiject to ary other change with 30 davs notice.'© 2006 MUS. Party Pepperoni Pizza 6" 315 square inches of Pizza x 15") Family Special 2 Medium 3 Topping Pizzas, Potato Wedges & 6 Cokes plus a FREE 6 pack of Jos. Louis Up size to 2 Large Pizzas for only $5.00 more,., With any purchase yet a 6 pack of Jos. Louis only ,49 Bzzalbei 310-3300 Oshawa • Whithy • Courtice •Bowmanville • BrooMin Large 3 Topping with 20 Wing Taste The Difference. Pick-Up Special Medium Pepperoni Pizza 7.49 Up size to a Large pizza for $2.00 more time offer. Not valid with any other combination or special. Delivery charge applies. Taxes extra. Valid at participating stores only, FOR TASTIER PIZZA ASK FOR IT WELL DONE!