The cost to ride Orillia Transit buses is going up in 2020.
At this week’s deliberations about the operating budget, city councillors approved a 10-cent hike in the cash fare, which will see that fare rise from $2.50 to $2.60. Monthly passes would rise by $1.50.
City staff say the hike is necessary to help offset rising costs and to fund potential service enhancements.
Orillia Coun. Pat Hehn said it’s important for local citizens to know that fares cover only about one-third of the costs of transit services each year.
Treasurer Jim Lang noted the city’s overall cost for transit services in 2019 is about $3.1 million. Revenue from ridership brings in about $1 million, while the city receives about $530,000 in provincial gas tax money. The remainder - about $1.5 million - is borne by the taxpayers.
“With or without any change in the level of service, increasing fare revenue decreases the impact to the taxpayer,” said Lang, noting the 2020 costs of transit operation - due to an annual inflationary increase to the contractor - will rise by about $62,000.
Coun. Ralph Cipolla did not support the fare hike, citing climate change.
“I think we should keep the rates the way they are in order to get more ridership,” said Cipolla, stressing the goal should be “to get people to ride transit more and use their cars less.”
Ian Sugden, the director of development services and engineering, explained the rationale for the hike.
He said an operational review of transit two years ago compared the city’s fares and operating costs to other comparable municipalities.
“From a rate perspective, a 25 per cent increase in the rate was recommended because we were so far below the median level,” Sugden noted, adding a 25-cent fare increase was approved in each of the previous two years.
Sugden said the rate increases were also imporant as the city has added “substantial amounts of service.”
Among those improvements was the purchase of five new buses and a new specialized transit bus. Council also authorized the addition of three new transit shelters in each of 2018 and 2019.
Sugden said the new shelters require cleaning and snow clearing, which also add more operating costs to the bottom line.
Those costs will rise further if city councillors, during next week’s capital budget deliberations, approve the addition of bike racks on city buses and green-light the proposed implementation of a smart pay transit fare system.
Coun. Mason Ainsworth said the fare increase is necessary.
“I think it’s important we do maintain service especially when we’re doing such significant transit improvements in the last few and next few years,” said Ainsworth.
He said he and others have been working for a long time to improve transit service and said bike racks and an easy-pay system will prove popular.
“These don’t come for free, unfortunately,” Ainsworth noted, adding modest fare increases are suitable to help fund the improvements. “Where else would we get that funding?”
Coun. Jay Fallis voted against the fare increase.
He said “the impact of having reasonably affordable transit is really important for the city. I think we should still work on improving what we’ve got.”
While the majority of council supported the fare increase, all decisions made during budget deliberations are subject to ratification at a special meeting of council Dec. 9.
Today, council continues deliberations on its approximately $60-million operating budget. Heading into today, a 4.1 per cent tax hike is projected. That number is subject to change.
Two days have also been set aside next week to discuss the capital budget.
