Former alderman says transit cuts a mistake
Cuts to public transit are inappropriate for something that should be considered a public service, says a former city alderman.
“It always has been a public service to the people, just like street sweeping and grooming our parks,” said John Hamill. “That kind of thing is a service that is provided by the city because we pay taxes for these things.
“You will never, ever make money on transit.”
Mayor Ted Clugston says the people of Medicine Hat spoke clearly on this issue in the Financial Fit public survey.
“Public transit was at the bottom of most peoples’ priority list,” said Clugston. “It still is a public service. It’s still subsidized by the city very heavily. Presently, the ridership fees only cover approximately 20 per cent of the costs.”
Only 2.1 per cent of Hatters are using transit, but everyone is paying for it, said Clugston.
Transit produces revenue of $1.6 million but the net cost is $6.3 million, says a city document. The transit changes to be introduced Sept. 5 will result in a $650,000 reduction in operating costs. Of that amount, 60 per cent relates to reduced personnel. Reduced fleet size and maintenance costs account for the remaining 40 per cent.
People who rated public transit so low are not considering the bigger picture, believes Hammil.
Recent provincial grants to reduce carbon emissions were for capital projects not operating costs, said Clugston. A lot went toward the cost of liquid natural gas buses, which reduce emissions by 20 to 30 per cent compared to diesel.
Only Calgary and Edmonton received operating grants, and mayors of mid-size cities are not happy about that, said Clugston, suggesting people call their MLA and ask why.
Those who decided on the new changes to transit are not the people who use it, said Hammil, who suggests it is time for councillors and city officials to use the bus for a few days to get to and from work and everywhere else they need to go.
“It would set a good example,” said Hammil.
“It is not a bad idea. Maybe we can talk about that (at Monday’s council meeting),” said Clugston.
Hammil doubts the $650,000 savings will be achieved, and says fares need to be reduced in order to increase ridership.
Clugston does not think reducing fares was talked about as a strategy for that.
Hammil suggests starting with one day a week at a drastically reduced fare to see if it increases passengers.
Changes to transit affect young people and seniors the most, said Hammil. Some seniors can no longer drive. Young people and seniors have limited budgets.
Having the new maintenance and refuelling facility near the airport rather than on Kipling Street, could mean an additional 5km journey each way for buses. Clugston says he is not sure whether it is actually costing more. The liquid natural gas is about half the price for the same amount of energy compared to diesel, he said.
Hammil suggests a reduction in bus routes and hours of operation is simply going to further reduce the number of people who use the service.
A couple members of the public have expressed concern that this could lead to the shutting down of transit.
“I can honestly say to you that hasn’t been discussed,” said Clugston.