(File photo/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Transit services

City to request more funding from province for bus pass subsidy

Jul 16, 2019 | 3:41 PM

The money the City receives from the province to offset the cost of discounted bus passes, is not enough according to council and they’ve asked that a letter be sent to Regina to request more.

The current agreement between the city and the ministry, which provides the passes at a cost of $25 for low-income earners, was discussed during Monday night’s city council meeting. The execution of the letter of understanding requires the approval of council. After being informed the funding received from the province for the passes had not been changed since 2015, Ward 6 Councilor Blake Edwards said the city should be getting more to help pay for the city’s expensive transit services.

“Have we asked them to increase this? They should be increasing this amount, at least by $5 in my opinion, absolutely by $5,” he said.

Ward 5 Councilor Dennis Ogrodnick said he agreed with the argument made by Edwards, but encouraged councilors to approve the motion before them.

“If we defeat this motion, it’s not going to be the government that’s going to hurt, it’s going to be the residents that are using this service,” he said.

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The moton was passed and the city’s current letter of understanding with the ministry of social services has been extended to March 31, 2020. A second motion was also approved at the meeting that will see a letter sent to Regina, requesting an increase in funding being provided per monthly bus pass.

An average of 4,000 discounted passes are sold every year by the city, with an average of 330 per month.

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Editor’s note: This story has been changed from its original version on July 16 to reflect that the city will not be hiking the cost of discounted bus passes, but rather is only seeking to get more funding from the province.

nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell