Specialized transit service on the chopping block, disability advocates worried

CALGARY (660 NEWS) — Ahead of city council’s budget review on Monday, disability advocates are appealing to city councillors.

City of Calgary administration is proposing nearly $2.4 million dollars in cuts to specialized transit services.

It’s part of the city’s desperate attempt to find $60 million in cuts to reduce small business property taxes.

When it comes to accessing health services and commuting to jobs, specialized transit is vital for people with disabilities.

Members of the disabled community are speaking with councillors to voice their concerns.

“I’m a senior that doesn’t drive,” Brad Robertson, a disability advocate, said. “I find it very important to be able to get around and be able to travel to all the advocacy stuff that I do, and all the poverty work that I do,” Robertson said.

It’s still too early to say what exactly will be cut from specialized transit services, but Robertson suspects it could result in the price of low-income transit passes increasing.

“We’re trying to get them all on side to see our point of view and see that it makes no sense to do these cuts,” he added.

Franco Terrazzano with the Canadian Tax Payers Federation is unimpressed with the cuts to social services considering the use of taxpayer dollars to fund a possible arena deal.

“Can you imagine that in the last few days there have been talks of potential cuts to low-income transit passes and now we’re talking about a possible multi-million dollar deal for the Flames owners,” Terrazzano said.

“I mean council is running around with their heads cut off, they’re pretending to be good stewards of taxpayer money,” Terrazzano said.

He argued that residents should be receiving the same relief as businesses.

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