Edmonton city councillors have unanimously voted to keep transit fares as they currently are.
Wednesday’s vote came after the Edmonton Transit Service brought forward a report that found a funding shortfall of roughly $10 million within the existing budget.
That shortfall was due to the rise in people using the Ride Transit pass.
City council was presented with several ideas on how fees could be increased. For seniors, the cost would have doubled from $35 to $78 per month.
“Having access to public transit is so essential,” Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said, adding that is why city council was hesitant to raise transit fares Wednesday.
“Asking them to pay more at this time is not something we should be looking at,” said Sohi.
Daniel Witte, with Edmonton Transit Riders, a group that advocates for improved public transit. He said he is grateful that rates will stay the same.
“We were not expecting to come out of here with no unplanned increases and the direction for administration to look to fill that gap from other parts of the budget,” Witte said.
Not raising rates means the city must find money elsewhere. City council challenged administration to find the one-time funding by reallocating the existing operating budget and keeping fares the same.
“In my opinion there’s probably $10 million in the system that we can reallocate. Does it mean pinching or letting go? Absolutely, but we have to get back to main priorities,” Coun. Aaron Paquette said.
He added that he thinks it is time to look at alternative ways to fund transit.
“We could have a transit funding formula — like EPS (the Edmonton Police Service),” Paquette said. “We could have dedicated transit funding.”
Witte said he believes this is unlikely to solve the problem.
“It’s great that we’re getting that one-time funding, but it is key to remember that it is only going to be for the one time,” he said.
“It is not going to be sustainable in the long term for the City of Edmonton to be paying for this program.”
City administration will report back during the fall supplemental operating budget adjustments.