To the editor,
It seems we will all need to transition away from our present driving habits. The cost of gas makes us want to be more careful with our gas use. So I parked the car and bundled my errands to a few driving days per week.
Here is a suggestion for another incentive to facilitate our communal transportation flexibility: A ‘punch card’ for 30 days of driving that has to be used within, say, a six-month period. If I want to drive, I would connect to an online site and log in for a 24-hour driving period. Since all police have computers, it would be a simple matter to check on insured drivers. This would be an optional program, particularly suited to the retired, or for families with a second vehicle. People could remain on the old system if they wanted that.
Perhaps as an incentive, any driver who buys into this gets free bus passes for their family for one month. After that, bus fares would be kept discounted, and much less than what the daily driving rate would cost on the punch card.
And where are those clever advertising people, to promote public transportation usage?
Please, could the powers that be come up with something that makes me want to ride transit, rather than this present state, which feels like a method to punish the driving public.
Laara Dalen, Nanaimo
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