Transport committee  The distinction is sort of moot. It depends on how you do the contract. You can contract out the capital cost as well. There are different models for contracting for the services. In some of them, the municipality owns the rolling stock and the company just provides the managemen

Transport committee  We're suggesting the idea be included that contracting out is an efficient tool and that municipalities should look at that. There are different ways in which they can use that tool.

Transport committee  Right--

Transport committee  No, I know you're not. In those cases, I guess that really the answer then is that they are private sector companies. They need to operate to make money. If there are not enough people who want to take that service, then they cut the service. But if it's important for the gover

Transport committee  I couldn't agree with you more. That is the bottom line of our presentation. We're not usually on anybody's radar screen, in government or out of government, until there's a crisis. We would welcome that kind of constructive dialogue about how we maintain those services.

Transport committee  That's right.

Transport committee  Right.

Transport committee  That's probably true. There's a couple of different issues there. What we're talking about now is the provision of transit services, which are government-funded transit services, to support communities--

Transport committee  No, not really. I don't think we're making—

Transport committee  Well, again, it's sort of a different issue than the provision of public transit services. But I guess if you wanted to roll that into it, you might say that we should expand the concept of public transit to some of these intercity bus operations and find a way for government to

Transport committee  That's right.

Transport committee  That's right. Our concern is not our taxes; it's the passengers'--

Transport committee  Right. The basic principle is exactly as you said: the taxes are paid by the customer, not the company.

Transport committee  Essentially they're attributable to more efficient operations, to three mechanics doing the work instead of six--

Transport committee  --and management overhead costs and that sort of thing.