A new report heading to next week’s city council meeting confirms the bus to the airport will continue on May 1. However, there still isn’t a funding deal in place for the 747 run between the Century Park LRT station and the Edmonton International Airport.
That piece is coming, according to Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson. He continues to talk with decision makers with Leduc, Leduc County and the airports authority.
“We need them to step forward with some additional commitments to make this project sustainable over time. I’m meeting with them to discuss that.”
READ MORE: EIA funding for 747 bus route to Edmonton airport expires
In November, when the airport announced it would pull out of the program, city council doubled the fare cost from $5 to $10. The increase came in on Feb.1 when the city adjusted its transit fare schedule.
However, Iveson points to another game changer that he claims makes a partnership deal all the more important.
“The pressure around working together is around the opening of the outlet mall (at the international airport) and everyone’s desire to get labour and customers to and from that new piece of non-residential tax base which pays taxes in the county and with tax-sharing agreement, also the City of Leduc benefits.”
READ MORE: More passengers, more development cap banner 2017 at Edmonton International Airport
Iveson doesn’t think it’s right that Edmonton pays the cost, while others gain the economic benefit.
“It can’t fall to the City of Edmonton alone to sustain and grow this service. So we’re going to have some frank conversations about the resources that will be required,” he said.
“But again, I think that if we all ante up because we’re all spending money in different services today, if we combine those resources we’re going to provide a better service, for workers, for travellers and for residents of the region.”
Iveson remains optimistic as talks continued Friday.
“I think the political will is there, we’ve had really good conversations with the mayors. I think coming up with the agreement itself is always a bit challenging but there’s nothing like a deadline to spur on some creativity, so I’m optimistic we’ll work through it through the short to medium term and we may not have the perfect solution for May 1 but if it moves us toward a better integrated solution over the next six months to a year that’s still phenomenally fast progress.”
The most recent launch date for the Premium Outlet Mall is May 2.
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