Feds funding change could be good for city

Amid all the gloomy news from Regina last week came some welcome news from Ottawa as Saskatoon looks to build an improved and reliable transit system.

Deputy Mayor Hilary Gough noted in an interview a change in the formula for how federal transit infrastructure money will be handed out favours cities like Saskatoon with low ridership.

Ridership numbers had been the sole criteria for federal infrastructure money, but the new formula announced in Wednesday’s federal budget takes population into account as well.

The new split for consideration is 70 per cent ridership and 30 per cent population.

“It’s great news for Saskatoon,” Gough said. “We’ve been working with our colleagues at the federal level with respect to this (Public Transit Infrastructure Fund) funding and really wanted to see it recognized that the funding and investment in infrastructure need to reflect not only where a community’s at, but where we’re headed.”

Gough said the change has the potential to help cities like Saskatoon, which she acknowledged has low numbers of people riding the bus.

In 2015, according to electronic bus pass numbers, 8.57 million bus trips were taken or 32.6 rides per capita. The city’s long-term goal is to double the rides per capita. The city’s next big infrastructure project is a bus rapid transit system estimated to cost about $280 million. Planning for the system is expected to start this year.

The federal Liberal government has pledged to spend $3.4 billion on public transit infrastructure. Under the old guidelines established in 2014, Saskatchewan would have qualified for $29 million in funding.

That’s less than half the funding allotted for similar-sized Prairie province Manitoba next door, which was slated to receive more than $82 million. Bus ridership in Saskatchewan was dwarfed by that in Manitoba — 17.76 million rides in 2014, compared to 50.73 million — accounting for the difference in funding.

Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark called the federal budget a “gamechanger” in a news release last week.

Saskatoon is expecting $209 million over 11 years for public transit, which will represent a 40 per cent share for projects, the release says.

Clark noted the ability of the provincial government to offer matching funds is unclear. The province is struggling to try to eliminate the deficit in three years.

The Saskatchewan Party government delivered a tough budget on Wednesday, full of funding cuts and tax increases.