Transport de Clare has taken the first step towards establishing a bus service in Digby – and existing taxi and shuttle services are worried this may push them out.

The non-profit agency based in Clare started a weekly run from Bear River on July 8, just Fridays for now, as a six-month pilot project to assess demand for the service.

“This is mostly aimed at seniors in isolation, people living in poverty, people who want to make a visit to Tide View and people with wheelchairs,” said the president of Transport de Clare, Claredon Robicheau, to the council of the Municipality of the District of Digby on June 27.

But he also told council they will take any passengers “if it means a chance to fill the seats” on the bus.

The white 14-passenger van picks up passengers door-to-door in Bear River starting at 9 a.m. and brings them into Digby for banking, errands, visiting, and  shopping. They return to Bear River for 1 p.m.

The same bus does a similar door-to-door run around Digby from 2 until 5 p.m. on Friday afternoons.

Robicheau has made presentations about the proposed services to both town and municipal councils. He told them if the pilot project goes well, he is planning to go after funding to buy a new van and base it full-time in Digby.

Robicheau let both councils know that he plans to ask them for $7,000 each to help fund a feasibility study of the service. The feasibility study is a prerequisite for going after provincial funding which would help pay for the new van.

Kathleen Gidney, of Kathleen’s Shuttles and Tours has been attending municipal council meeting this spring trying to gather information about the new service and to ask council for help.

“I do stand to lose significant business if Transport de Clare comes in and does these same trips to the same population at less than half the price that would just cover my expenses,” she says. “”It is really unfair for me to pitted up against a subsidized service like this.”

Transport de Clare charges $10 return for the Bear River trips and the in-town Digby trips.

The town meanwhile has fixed the taxi price for an in-town trip at $7 one-way, $6 for seniors or people going to school or work. A trip to Bear River by taxi is $22.

Joye Hudson, owner operator of Basin Taxi for the last six years, says even if they were allowed to charge less, they couldn’t afford it.

“We’re not subsidized,” she says just after learning about the new service from The Courier. “We can’t compete with that. We just can’t.

“The town is going to be in a mess all right, when they realize they don’t have any cabs to drive people around in the evenings.”

Bob Wade of Digby Cab has been driving taxi in Digby for just about 30 years.

“If this service sets up here, what you’re going to find is no cabs here, and the town can figure it from there,” says Wade throwing his hands up in the air. “It’s always something isn’t it.

“We went to all those meetings with the town about Kings Transit and then no one even thinks to tell us about this other service.”

Transport de Clare is licensed through and its prices are set by the provincial Utilities and Review Board. They also have a license to do a Freeport to Digby run for $30 return.

Mayor Ben Cleveland and town councilor Jean Brittain asked Robicheau July 4 if his service would impact on the local private operators.

“Absolutely. It has to, no doubt about it,” he answered without any hesitation. “It’s a public service, like a co-op, a non-profit service.

“The difference is,” said Robicheau, “You call a taxi and you get a taxi now. It’s the community that will have to decide.”

Robicheau says he hopes to hold a public meeting in October to hear what the public thinks.

Source : Digby County Courier

Robert St-Pierre, chauffeur de taxi depuis deux ans, a réalisé l’inimaginable. En seulement neuf mois, il a perdu 155 livres grâce à un régime protéiné. Portrait d’un père de famille qui a décidé de prendre sa vie en main.

Depuis son adolescence, Robert St-Pierre vivait avec un surplus de poids. «Je mangeais trois assiettes pleines à chaque repas», s’est-il souvenu. Toutefois, ce n’est qu’après une opération, en 2010, qu’il a réalisé qu’il mettait sa vie en danger s’il n’agissait pas rapidement.

«J’ai été opéré à la cuisse pour une infection, une cellulite. Après l’opération, le médecin m’a diagnostiqué un diabète et je faisais déjà de l’hypertension. Quand j’ai réalisé que si je ne faisais rien, je pouvais en mourir, j’ai décidé de suivre une diète. Je voulais voir mes petits enfants grandir», a-t-il confié.

En étant chauffeur de taxi, la restauration rapide est le moyen le plus facile de se nourrir, selon M. St-Pierre. «On ne mange jamais aux heures de repas normales, on mange sur le pouce, alors c’est un McDo par ci, un Burger King par là», a-t-il expliqué. Il a toutefois réalisé qu’avec un peu d’efforts, tout est possible.

Régime minceur

Le régime protéiné qu’a suivi M. St-Pierre consiste à manger un produit protéiné le matin, un autre le midi, accompagné de légumes, et un repas de viande au souper, accompagné de légumes et de salade. Pain, patates, pâtes, dessert, on oublie ça.

Cette sorte de privation n’a toutefois jamais affecté le moral du chauffeur qui se sent désormais moins serré dans son taxi. «Les quatre ou cinq premiers mois, je ne me suis pas senti privé, ça ne dérangeait pas du tout, j’ai même passé les fêtes sans tricher», a raconté M. St-Pierre. Après un mois seulement, son diabète avait disparu et après 120 livres perdues, sa pression a commencé à s’améliorer.

Ce qu’il trouve le plus difficile, ce sont les nombreuses occasions spéciales que présente l’été, les anniversaires, etc. Il faut préciser que le régime proscrit toute consommation d’alcool, alors pas de coupe de vin au souper, pas de bière entre copains. «Mon dada, c’était le sucre», a avoué le père de famille.

Le plus difficile est de ne pas retomber dans l’excès que l’on vivait avant de commencer le régime. Cela ne semble toutefois pas être un défi pour Robert St-Pierre. «Les produits protéinés sont vraiment bons, a-t-il avoué. On aime la bonne bouffe, mais on ne se prive pas pour autant. On la prépare différemment.» D’aileurs, sa conjointe a perdu 30 livres seulement en mangeant le même souper que son mari.

«Ç’a changé radicalement ma vie» - Robert St-Pierre

Celui qui a fixé son objectif total à 180 livres a d’autres objectifs en tête, comme celui d’arrêter de fumer et de se mettre à pratiquer la marche. D’ailleurs, cet été, il a construit un patio derrière sa maison, chose qu’il n’aurait jamais pu faire il y a un an. «Ç’a changé radicalement ma vie, a-t-il affirmé. Je n’aurais jamais pu construire ça tout seul l’an passé».

D’autres petits projets le motivent à continuer, comme refaire l’extérieur de sa maison et aménager le terrassement de sa cour. Celui qui aime sa nouvelle façon de vivre et son nouveau look dans le miroir espère pouvoir inspirer ses deux fils à suivre la même voie. «Mais il faut le faire pour soi-même avant tout», a-t-il précisé.

Source : La Frontière

Cinq exploitants de «taxi pirate», dont un qui circulait avec une arme à feu, ont été arrêtés la semaine dernière à Ottawa.

Des agents des règlements municipaux et la police d'Ottawa ont mis un terme aux activités de cinq personnes qui pratiquaient illégalement le commerce de taxi. Les autorités ont porté huit accusations selon le Code de la sécurité routière et le règlement municipal sur les taxis.

D'autres accusations devraient s'ajouter, puisqu'une arme à feu et de l'alcool ont été découverts dans un des véhicules. Son propriétaire ne disposait pas non plus d'un permis de conduire valide.

«Les taxis pirates constituent une menace à la sécurité des résidents d'Ottawa de même qu'à ses visiteurs», a affirmé par voie de communiqué le conseiller du quartier Baie, Mark Taylor.

Les accusations prévoient des amendes pouvant atteindre 10 000$. Les élus municipaux ont récemment voté en faveur de modifications législatives à la province de l'Ontario, afin de permettre aux agents d'application des règlements municipaux de faire respecter certains articles, tâche jusqu'ici réservée aux policiers.

M. Taylor précise qu'aucune caméra de sécurité n'est installée dans les taxis illégaux pour protéger les clients. Les taxis autorisés de la Ville d'Ottawa ont une enseigne de taxi éclairée sur le toit du véhicule, une plaque d'immatriculation de la Ville sur le pare-choc arrière, un numéro d'identification à l'intérieur et à l'extérieur du véhicule, une fiche à l'intérieur du véhicule sur laquelle figurent les différents tarifs appliqués, et la carte photo d'identité du chauffeur à l'intérieur du véhicule, arborant le logo de la Ville d'Ottawa.

Source : Cyberpresse.ca

ATHENS, Greece - Greek authorities say striking taxi drivers are disrupting cruise ship arrivals at two major resort islands and blocking highways during the peak of the vital tourist season.

A harbour police statement says about 50 taxi drivers are preventing more than 800 passengers from three cruise ships from boarding tour coaches on the northwestern island of Corfu. A fourth cruise ship carrying 2,400 passengers was due at Corfu later Thursday.

Strikers also stopped 2,400 passengers from two cruise ships from boarding coaches for scheduled excursions at the Cretan port of Iraklio and blocked three highways leading out of the northern city of Thessaloniki.

Taxi drivers have been on an open-ended strike since Monday to protest planned reforms to open up their professions to more competition.

Source : The Canadian Press

ATHENS, Greece - Greek taxi drivers clashed with police Wednesday as they vowed to continue an open-ended strike that has caused big disruptions at airports and harbours during the peak of the country's vital tourist season.

Hundreds of taxi drivers protesting planned licensing reforms threw stones and water bottles at riot police guarding the transport ministry during negotiations with the government, and were dispersed with tear gas. The government is trying to make it cheaper for new cabbies to enter the business but talks over the plans collapsed Wednesday.

The three-day old taxi strike is the latest challenge to the Socialist government's program of reforms and painful cutbacks in response to a debt crisis that nearly saw the country slide into bankruptcy earlier this month.

Despite last year's €110 billion ($156 billion) bailout deal from its European partners and the International Monetary Fund, Greece is looking for another debt relief program. EU leaders are meeting Thursday in Brussels to discuss Greece.

"Tomorrow's summit will determine the future of the country and of Europe," government spokesman Elias Mossialos said.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou will meet European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso in Brussels later Wednesday ahead of the summit. Over the past two days, Papandreou has spoken on the phone with Barroso, EU president Herman Van Rompuy and the prime ministers of Italy and Spain, as well as those of bailed-out Ireland and Portugal.

In a parliamentary briefing Tuesday, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said the new program is expected to be worth an estimated €120 billion ($170 billion) — half of the money is expected to come from the eurozone and the IMF, a quarter from private sector involvement and the rest from Greece's ambitious privatization program.

Greece's 14-month old austerity program, that combines pension and public wage cuts with tax and retirement age increases, has sparked a wave of discontent around the country.

At times, it has turned violent, most notably earlier this month when lawmakers backed another austerity package required by international creditors for the country to get the next batch of its current bailout funds.

The taxi driver walkout has alarmed tourism industry officials, after strikers blocked access to the country's main airport and harbour for hours on Monday. Over the past two days, strikers have periodically shut access to regional ports, airports and highways, to protest the proposed licensing changes.

They claim the measures will lead to market saturation through a surge of new licenses and cut deep into their income.

"Our fight is just starting," union leader Efthymios Lyberopoulos said after the talks broke down.

On Wednesday, taxi drivers blocked access to Iraklio airport on the major resort island of Crete, and threatened to prevent cruise ship passengers from boarding tour buses to Cretan archaeological sites on Thursday.

In an apparent bid to deflect criticism the strike is harming tourism revenue — worth more than 15 per cent of Gross Domestic Product — taxi drivers in the southern Peloponnese area took over ticket offices at the site and museum of Ancient Olympia, allowing visitors in for free.

The Socialist government, which is trailing the main opposition conservatives in polls, says the reforms are necessary under the terms of Greece's existing bailout deal.

Source : The Canadian Press