Proposed transit fare increase irks councillors

Orléans Coun. Bob Monette said he’d like to see fees increase no more than the rate of inflation. Cumberland Coun. Rob Jellett, meanwhile, suggests the transit committee should stick to its three-year plan and increase fares by 7.5 per cent.

The city has had a three-year plan to increase fares about 7.5 per cent each year so users of the system are shouldering half the costs of running the service. However, the transit committee’s original proposal to hike fares by 7.5 per cent, on average, was whittled down by committee members on Friday, Nov. 6 to an average of 3.5 per cent.

“We very deliberately set a policy where transit costs are supposed to be paid 50 per cent by the users and 50 per cent by the homeowners through the transit levy,” Jellett said, explaining the plan put in place two years ago raised fees 7.5 per cent each year to get to that 50/50 ratio.

“I’ll still support that,” he continued. “We have to get to that because we’re subsidizing too much of our transit with our property taxes, and we have to get to the point where the users of the system are paying half the costs.”

Reducing the original transit fare increase is adding another $3 million or more to the property tax bill, Jellett said. “We’re staring in the face here of 8-9 per cent (tax increase), this is ridiculous, no one can afford that.

“We have to go back to basics here and we have to say, ‘No, we have a policy,’” he added.

Monette, meanwhile, said the 3.5 per cent increase is closer to being acceptable, but the 7.5 per cent hike was a “non starter,” especially coming off the transit strike.

“I can’t say there will be no increase because we need to create revenue,” he continued, adding he might be able to support the 3.5 per cent increase.

He noted there is still room for negotiation, though.

“Anytime we start the budget process we always see the worst case scenario,” Monette said.

While a hike is difficult following the 53-day transit strike over the winter, especially since the city is trying to get riders back, Jellett said he still supports sticking to the original plan.

The majority of people in the city don’t use transit, he argued, noting only about 30 per cent of the population takes the bus in Orléans. That leaves 70 per cent of residents who don’t use the system paying an inordinate amount of the costs, Jellett indicated.

Jellett, who sits on the audit committee that will be reviewing all proposed departmental budgets, said he will push for the 7.5 per cent fare increase, but “if that’s not the will of council, that’s not the will of council.”

If the 3.5 per cent hike goes through instead – Jellett noted he can understand the arguments for such an increase – then the councillor said the city has to cut $3 million somewhere else within the transit system because “we cannot pass that on to the taxpayer.”