Fare caps for Regina Transit users headed to city council for approval
Some changes under consideration include new options for payment
Regina transit users could pay less in fares with new cashless payment options as soon as this summer, thanks to a handful of updates that move forward to city council next week.
Administration presented a report to executive committee at Wednesday's meeting, seeking approval to amend the Regina Transit Fare Bylaw to lower fares and introduce a “new, innovative” fare-capping model to incentivize ridership.
The recommendations were approved in a unanimous 7-0 vote, with Coun. Cheryl Stadnichuk (Ward 1), Dan Leblanc (Ward 6) and Lori Bresciani (Ward 4) absent. Final approval is required from city council on March 6.
Primary among the suggested bylaw changes is introducing a daily fare cap of three fares and a monthly cap of 31 fares for riders paying electronically. Any subsequent rides after those caps would be free of charge.
“The more you use, the lower the cost per ride,” and at a lower rate, summarized deputy city manager of city operations Kurtis Doney.
In tandem, fares paid by noncash methods will also be reduced to $2.90 per adult from $3.25 and $2.45 per youth from $2.75. Youth under the age of 13 still ride for free.
Monthly passes will be reduced from $64 to $60 for youth, and from $51 to $48 for the affordable youth pass. Daily passes are to be eliminated, made redundant by a daily fare cap.
Cash fares, in contrast, will increase to a flat rate of $3.25 regardless of age, though city staff said this method has been declining in popularity.
Doney said the suggestion is made more from an operational standpoint, than a cost one. A single cash fare would resolve conflict for drivers who must determine a person's age in order to collect the correct fare, he said.
“Youth don't always carry identification, and so its definitely an issue they deal with,” he said.
Of the average 1,000 riders per day, less than 10 per cent pay cash, according to Regina Transit's data. Less than two per cent of those cash fares are for youth.
Coun. Shanon Zachidniak (Ward 8) proposed an amendment, asking to keep the lower cash fare for youth at $2.75. Given the statistics, she said it was a small allowance to maintain affordability for the few that utilize that offering. The switch equates to a difference in revenue of about $255.
“I certainly don't want to take steps that will make life more expensive for any youth in Regina,” she said.
The amendment vote failed 3-4, with Coun. Bob Hawkins (Ward 2), Jason Mancinelli (Ward 9), Coun John Findura (Ward 5) and Mayor Sandra Masters against.
Aside from bylaw updates, a new on-board payment system inside city buses will roll out this August, which adds the option to pay fares by credit card, debit or e-wallets like Apple Pay, in addition to the currently offered cash and reloadable smartcards.
A web-portal is also coming, which will allow people to reload their smartcards online, as well as a mobile app.
Doney said the new technology is the city's response to consumer usage trends and requests from younger demographic of bus users for more flexible payment.
“We hear regularly from transit users, young and old, that we need different ways to pay for transit,” said Doney.
Daniel Leibman and Kye Kolody-watt, of local advocacy group Better Bus Youth, said the changes would be “a step in the right direction” to bettering transit usage.
“Cashless payments alone are a massive step in making buses overall more accessible for everyone,” he said.
Better Bus Youth, much like the Regina Citizens Public Transit Coalition, have been pressing city council to make transit more accessible for almost three years.
Though the group ultimately wants to see transit fares for riders under age 18 totally scrapped, Leibman said lower fares will help make riding the bus more appealing to the younger demographic.
Kolody-watt argued its only one step, and the city needs to “keep working” on physical accessibility — like wheelchair access, route frequency and after-hours service — as well as financial.
The fare changes, if approved next week, will come into effect on Aug. 1, the same time new payment systems will be operational.