A group of Ottawa senior citizens are protesting planned cuts to OC Transpo bus service in their west-end neighbourhood.
The seniors, who live on McEwan Avenue, say cuts to route 156 will have adverse effects on their daily outings. The route currently runs every half hour but, starting next month, it will only run every two hours.
The group is also worried about longer walks to catch the 85 bus on Carling Avenue. Several stops along that route are set to be eliminated.
The seniors staged a demonstration on McEwan Avenue Wednesday Avenue, chanting, "Save our bus! Save our bus!"
"This bus is our lifeline to the rest of the community and it's not fair to be closing it off," said Mary Lou Studolm.
OC Transpo will cut, change or reduce service on almost a hundred routes starting September 4 for a savings of $20 million over three years.
"We had to make some significant changes," said Ottawa Coun. Mark Taylor. "And if we hadn't done that the whole system would have been unsustainable."
Besides the seniors, high school students will also see changes to their bus routes at the start of the school year.
The seniors say it will be a hard adjustment for them to make.
"What that's going to cause is our golden years are going to become rusty years," said Diane Scrivens.
A summary of the route changes can be seen here.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's John Hua
