Council Pumps Brakes On Cutting Saturday Transit Service
By Robert Thomas
It may have been approved unanimously at a recent special meeting of Council and for many in the community looked downright Grinch-like but in the end Council has decided to extend the regular Saturday transit service until at least May 1st.
At Monday afternoon’s special Council meeting a number of Council members admitted that their initial cancellation of Saturday transit service effective February 1st was not well thought out and a “knee-jerk reaction.”
“I think we need to engage the citizens of our community before we cut back on something like that,” Councilllor Crystal Froese told Council after initially voting in favour of the cut at the December 9th special meeting of Council.
“Usership is one thing but I think you know citizens are OK for paying, for subsidizing those that can’t afford their own vehicle and or can’t afford to take a cab or Uber or URide or anything like that,” Councillor Froese said.
The re-think on Transit came as part of an initial motion to take $20,000 out of Council’s travel budget (as Council is unlikely to travel anywhere in 2021 due to COVID - 19) by Mayor Fraser Tolmie and use the funds to extend the regular Transit service until May 1st instead of the agreed to February 1st.
Council voted unanimously to remove their $20,000 travel budget for 2021.
Going to a Dial A Bus service starting May 1st would add an additional $20,000 needed to continue a modified Saturday service. To continue with the present service would cost $80,000 in subsidy.
The cost of the modified service would result in a .07 percent property tax increase.
The loss of Council’s travel budget for 2021 will require a bylaw amendment to remove it from the Bylaw.
The Para-Transit service on Saturday’s was never discontinued by Council.
Councillor Froese put forth an amendment to the Tolmie motion to also include a survey of the community “particularly the business community” about discontinuing the Saturday regular bus service. It was one of many amendments proposed by Council on the issue.
Councillor Dawn Luhning, who fought against an overall property tax increase in 2021, pointed out that Transit costs money.
“I just want to point out that Transit is subsidized in 2021 to a tune of $1.3 million. So if this is what the citizens of Moose Jaw want…this is the price tag. The taxpayers of Moose Jaw are paying $1.3 million for people to ride the bus,” Councillor Luhning said.
“I don’t know if the number or the stats lie to us two weeks ago and my guess is they do not. The stats are the bus is not being utilized on Saturdays and like Councilllor Eby’s comment about the subsidization of Transit just because we have had a few people tell us they are not happy with our decision doesn’t make it suddenly everybody is using the bus on Saturday and where did my service go,” she said. “We have to look at these things rationally with a little bit of sense in my opinion.”
“Transit is a very expensive business for the City”
“Why are we rehashing all of this stuff? We did this already,” she said.
SEE RELATED OPINION - Transit Takes A Hit
Councilor Doug Blanc admitted his initial vote to discontinue the regular Saturday transit service effective February 1st was wrong.
“Yes it is being subsidized but there are lots of things the City subsidizes that are subsidized. The park (Wakamow) is a good example. It never makes money maybe the campground down there…that is just part of doing business,” Councillor Blanc said, adding “I regret voting in favour of that one I think it was because it was a very knee-jerk action just trying to get through the Budget and save some money.”
Extending the service for three months allowed Saturday bus riders the opportunity to make other arrangements, he said.
Councillor Blanc said he also supported the Dial A Bus option for Saturdays due to feedback from the public.
“I asked people over the last couple of weeks during this Pandemic when the buses were shutdown ‘did you you know there was Dial A Bus’ and people who use the bus on a regular basis said they had no idea. We have to take some responsibility for that…I think if we are going to have a Dial A Bus I think it needs to be advertised very broadly so people are aware and can utilize it.”
“It is something that will never ever make the City any money but I think we need it because it is the most vulnerable who are using it.”
“I to had a knee-jerk reaction,” Councillor Jamey Logan told Council. “Bad on me for being a rookie councillor I saw savings and I jumped at it. When I got home I regretted that particular change. And there are folks who just work all week and cannot get groceries or afford to get a cab on Saturdays.”
Councillor Logan proposed an amendment that would also include the locations and times of the stops as part of the main motion to temporarily continue Saturday service for an additional three months.
“Engage the citizens in the meantime and come up with a plan that makes sense,” he said.
City manager Jim Puffalt said Administration had studied Transit for a year and there are some things the City is looking at in hopes of increasing ridership.
“I think going back to 30 minute service is necessary which increases ridership which decreases our subsidy levels to a reasonable level. Our point of view is…this is an important service to the community and we have go to find a way that meets the majority of the customers. I do apologize we cannot accommodate everybody all of the time. Unfortunately as a City we can’t always do that, so that is why we have to find ways around that,” Puffalt said.
“We are willing to work with people and trying to increase ridership. That is what we want trying to encourage people to use the bus service,” he said.
Traditionally Moose Jaw’s buses ran on a 30 minute schedule. That schedule was changed to a 40 minute schedule when the routes were changed in order to allow the new Dr F.H. Wigmore to be incorporated into the transit system. The hospital was off of the beaten track that Transit used - the former Union Hospital was centrally located near the Downtown core - and to allow the stop to be included required the move to 40 minute routes as well as increasing the City’s subsidy to Transit.
“We cannot afford to have empty buses running around. We have got to find a way to have those full. And that is how we get to a reasonable subsidy level.”
Puffalt pointed out that things such as Transit and recreational facilities helped in the balance as not funding them would impact with more demand and funding for police services.
Councillor Froese said that the business community also needed to be engaged in any efforts to get feedback on the system as many businesses were unaware that there were going to be changes.
“Cutting a complete service in the middle of Winter for people who are relying on it I think the majority of citizens would want that to continue,” she said. “It will at least give them some time for some options.”
In the end in a 4 - 3 vote with Councillors Froese, Logan, Blanc and Mayor Tolmie and Councillors Eby, Luhning and Kim Robinson opposed Council decided to extend regular Transit service until May 1st with the City seeking input (survey) from the community and business sector to ascertain if the present, a Dial A Bus or discontinuing the service is the best option.