OTSU attends DRT delegation, students needed to share their experience
On February 7, representatives from the OTSU and its Student Advocacy Advisory Committee attended the Durham Region Transit Executive Committee Meeting (TEC) to express concerns we’ve been hearing from our student body. Alongside the OTSU, four other delegations from the broader community were present to share their experiences and offer solutions to improving transit service for people across the Durham Region.
Throughout the delegation, the recurring themes of overcrowding and service insufficiency highlighted to the TEC that our problems are shared by many across the Durham Region, and that action must be taken! During our presentation, the OTSU explicitly expressed concern over the DRT’s reluctance to specifically survey post-secondary students to understand their unique needs—disappointing, considering that post-secondary students contribute 23% of the DRT's fare revenue!
The Meeting concluded with Commissioner Maurice Brenner from Pickering motioning for the DRT to prepare a budget removing the January 2024 scheduling changes for the next meeting.
The next TEC delegation is March 6—the meeting where the budget will be presented—and we need your voice to echo our collective student experience!
We’re looking for a few students to join us in sharing their experience using the DRT, so if you want to speak directly to decision-makers who can actually improve service, please contact Tega at vpaffairs.otsu@ontariotechu.ca.
