4 minute read
Citizens Speak out on Zunga Bus
Citizens speak out: Should the Zunga Bus stay or go?
Stephen Miller: It must go
For 16 years, Stephen Miller was the President and CEO of Easter Seals BC & Yukon. As head of that charity, he was always wary of donations that came in specifically to fund new or expanded projects.
“We wouldn’t just accept it. We’d ask ourselves what happens at the end of the year, when that money isn’t there anymore. Then we have to cut the service, and suddenly people look at the charity as cutting things, so it brings a negative for that charity.”
Now Stephen is the chair of the Townsite Ratepayers Society (TRS). When the City found Provincial funds for an on-demand transit service pilot, he said, staff and council should have asked the same question: what gets lost when the funding runs out?
“You’ve always got to be thinking about what happens when a grant ends,” he said in an interview at his home.
In a letter to council on behalf of the TRS, Stephen outlined why the Board of Directors believes the City should stop funding the Zunga Bus.
Because it only serves Westview, he said, “this service has created a disparity by serving only one neighbourhood.”
In other words, Townsite residents pay for it (as do residents of Cranberry and Wildwood, he pointed out), but they don’t benefit from it.
Furthermore, Stephen wrote, expanding it isn’t something the City can afford, and therefore the Zunga Bus should be axed – especially given the City’s current budget problem.
According to the TRS’ calculations, the City lost $670,025 over three years on Zunga Bus.
Stephen added that private on-demand services are legal in this region now. If people want an on-demand service and are willing to pay for it, the framework is in place.
“We’re looking at a 9% property tax increase,” he said.
“That’s ridiculous. We’re already one of the highest-taxed municipalities in BC. We need to start cutting non-essential services.”
And Zunga Bus is, Stephen said, a non-essential service.
Matt Staley: It must stay
Matthew Staley moved to qathet in 2020, one year before the Zunga Bus started up.
He came here to heal from three things: PTSD from his time as a warrant officer in Afghanistan; alcoholism from his time post-army (both of which he addressed at the Sunshine Coast Treatment Centre); as well as to recover from treatment for polycythemia vera, a kind of blood cancer that gave him severe clots in his legs.
It’s been nearly four years. Now, he lives with his high school sweetheart and his therapy dog, Fisher. And, he offers other people in recovery his help, through life coaching, and running meetings.
“Community is massive in my world, and I want to be part of this community because it took me in and accepted me at my weakest,” he said.
Matt, who lost his drivers license in the aftermath of when he came back from war, was one of the Zunga Bus’ first customers.
He started using it to get to medical appointment and meetings.
“I was pretty busted up when I came here,” he said, noting he could barely walk, and using the bus wasn’t manageable for him due to his PTSD.
“Zunga helped me cope. It gave me the ability to be independent again safely.”
Now, he uses Zunga Bus to get to work and volunteer. Although he has a learners license again and will be driving soon, Matt is a vocal supporter of Zunga.
“I’ve gotten to know so many people on Zunga,” he said. “These guys became part of my day-to-day. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know when someone is hard up. Zunga lets people lug their groceries back to their family without breaking their back. It lets some families go down to one vehicle, or get rid of their vehicle, now that everything is so expensive.”
Moms and dads traveling with kids and groceries, and the elderly: taking the regular bus often requires “an inhuman effort” for some.
“I don’t want the service to be thrown out because people don’t understand it. If you don’t understand it, try it out.”
