The City of Guelph says it will be laying off nine full-time transit operators and eight part-time operators in September as the COVID-19 pandemic impacts ridership levels.
Its current reduced schedules will become permanent next month while all extra and express routes serving the University of Guelph will be cancelled.
Only about 1,000 U of G students are expected to attend class on campus this fall and the students’ association has cancelled its contract with Guelph Transit which saw a bus pass added to student fees.
The move will mean a loss of $3.5 million per semester.
The city said it still expects a new revenue loss over $2.2 million per semester when you factor in the loss of the student bus pass and money saved from layoffs and service cuts.
“We’re sorry we’re not able to keep these operators on our team,” said the city’s deputy CAO Colleen Clack. “They stepped up during COVID-19 to help keep front-line workers working and get people to grocery stores and medical appointments.”
Along with laying off 17 operators, the city said 14 positions will remain vacant.
The city is still awaiting $5.1 million in funds for transit as part of the provincial and federal government’s Safe Restart agreement, but details have not been provided.
Clack says those funds and any future emergency funding is not a sustainable revenue source.
“We don’t know when ridership will return to normal levels, and we still need to operate transit responsibly and efficiently,” she said. “With up to 60 per cent fewer riders, we simply don’t need to run as many buses as often.”
The city said Guelph Transit will increase service based on ridership to manage costs and keep transit more affordable for riders and taxpayers.
More information about passes and routes can be found on the city’s website.