Swift Current needs to reconsider cuts to city transit

Editor:

Recently the City of Swift Current stated it is reviewing our inner city transit.

All around the world people are struggling to cope with the impacts of climate change and extreme pollution so much so that some places are becoming uninhabitable causing people to become refugees.

Our vehicle-based society is a huge contributor to these condition.

Cutting public transit is the last thing we should be considering.

If anything, we should be working to improve and expand the system regardless of whether it currently making money.

There are many cities around the world that are considering banning vehicles, some put restriction on your licence as to the days of the week you are allowed to drive and others have started having days when vehicles are banner.

We have attached to our conveniences, for better or worse. But we have to face reality and recognize the true gravity of the crisis we are in on this planet.

It is not okay to point at other countries deficiencies to make ourselves feel better.

Most of the pollution in Third World countries is due to the manufacturing of goods for First World consumption. Sending money to those in crisis only makes the conditions bearable enough to keep the system of oppression in place.

But nothing will help those in need more than changing the wasteful and materialistic ways in which we have become accustomed to living.

Buses are an important piece in transition into a more sustainable and fulfilling way of life and they do not belong on the chopping block.

The provincial governments should not only be reinstating the Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC), but encouraging municipalities to do what they can to reduce unnecessary vehicle use whether through public transit, bicycle lanes, helping people organize carpooling in their neighborhoods or encouraging walking.

It's time we get serious about solutions instead of pretending nothing is wrong. Maria Rose Lewans

Swift Current