The City of Regina approved lower fares for transit users starting in 2019, in order to increase ridership and make bus passes more affordable.
“We did a review of other Canadian municipalities in transit and we found out that we are slightly higher than some of those municipalities,” Brad Bells, Regina Transit’s director of transit services said.
You may not see a huge bump in your savings account though, starting Jan. 14, 2019, transit users will see a drop in both adult and youth 31-day passes and 20 ride passes will decrease by three dollars each. Senior annual passes will also drop $30, while cash fares remain the same.
“We had a three per cent increase in ridership in 2017, we’re on pace for another three per cent in 2018 and we think with these change,s with the incentives to our pass sales, we expect another three per cent in 2019,” Bells said.
Along with the price adjustments, a number of new passes will also be available including a 31-day seniors pass, a semi-annual adult and youth pass and two new affordable options for low-income users.
- Adult 31-day pass will drop from $92 to $88
- Youth 31-day pass will drop from $66 to $64
- 20 Rides adult pass will drop from $58 to $55
- 20 Rides youth pass will drop from $49 to $46
- Senior annual pass will drop from $300 to $270
“Having access to affordable transit is huge. It will help prevent people from walking in the really cold weather,” Rochelle Berenyi with Carmichael Outreach said.
“It will help prevent people from maybe missing some of those appointments that they may have had no other way to get to and it just creates a safer and more dignified way to get around the city.”
The city says it’s always looking to improve services for its users. Next on its radar, are 60-foot buses and one day the city says they could even welcome electric buses.