Hello:

My letter was prompted by the storyline "an alternative day when buses don't run". I do not disagree with the message but would like to offer an opinion on this subject based upon personal experience. In Owen Sound the same company operates both school buses and city transit which includes a mobility bus for people with disabilities. The mobility bus which operates from 6 AM to 6 PM Monday through Saturday has been canceled a total of one day due to inclement weather during the past two winters.

Contrast this with the numerous days in town school buses are canceled each and every winter. I personally use an electric wheelchair for mobility and travel on the mobility bus five days a week to get back and forth to my place of employment. On the numerous days when in-town school buses are canceled I am always amazed at the number of octogenarians utilizing walkers and canes who attend their appointments whether to grocery stores, medical appointments,social events and even Timmies.

It is difficult not compare this with the hundreds of able bodied children and teenagers who utilize in-town bussing to get to and from school and are deemed to be at too much risk to walk the one or two blocks to their school bus pickup point. I imagine this decision is made by a senior staff member at the Board of Education and not parents but come on really!! I believe this is more a culture of complacency than actual risk. The real world does not stop every time there is the threat of snow as they would soon be out of business.

Andy Underwood
Owen Sound