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Bus fare hike could be delayed

Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Mar 23/05) - City council will likely push back the date for a bus fare increase because they haven't had a chance to vote on it yet.

Last December, a majority of councillors recommended increasing adult bus fares by 50 cents to $2.50 and up the $1.50 rate charged to youths, seniors and the disabled by a quarter.

The 2005 municipal budget was passed on the assumption that the new fares would be in place by April 1.

But Coun. Mark Heyck said the schedule is too tight considering that they won't have a chance to formally vote on the proposal until March 28. Heyck recommended the date be moved to May 1, and council agreed.

"We're a little slow coming back to you," conceded city administrator Max Hall during a committee meeting on Monday.

Heyck also suggested council re-visit the fare increase for youth, seniors, and the disabled because many are on a fixed income. "I thought this was a very drastic increase," said Heyck.

His amended recommendation squeaked by 3-2. It, along with the rescheduled fare increase, will come up for a council bylaw vote next Monday.

The bus fare hike issue was a hot one last December, and council remains divided over it.

Some feel that it's about time for a rate increase since there hasn't been one in 15 years, while others say the hike - 25 per cent for adults - is too much all at once.

Coun. Kevin O'Reilly said he fears ridership will decline if the new fares are implemented.

"A 25 per cent increase would only bring in an additional $40,000," said O'Reilly.

"I don't recall any fee increase calling for 25 per cent in one fell swoop."

Coun. Dave McCann, on the other hand, said it doesn't seem like there are very many people using the bus service as it stands right now.

"I was walking by and there was a bus driver happy driving along all by himself," said McCann. "That just clangs me somewhere."

McCann said he heard London, England imposes a surcharge on vehicles entering the city's downtown core as means to encourage people to use public transit more often.

"That's something we might want to look at in the long haul - very long haul," said McCann.

According to administration, the number of rides per capita peaked at 7.5 in 2000 but dwindled slightly over the next three years to 7.2 in 2003.

Rate dropped

In 1994, the city's bus service was recovering 64 per cent of its costs through transit fares but the rate quickly dropped into the 40 per cent range and has been there ever since. In 2003, the service cost the city $498,477 but only drew in $229,096 in fares.

Public works director Greg Kehoe said, however, that most municipalities in the country subsidize their transit services by more than half of what they cost.