Students: Monthly price decreasing.

By Martha WickettMARKET NEWS Staff Oct 13 2006 http://www.saobserver.net/
The price of a bus ride makes a difference to students, an observation that will translate into lower transit fees for students using the Shuswap Regional Transit System. This past summer, students were offered free transit service from July 1 to Sept. 30 as a promotion to attract more riders. Peter Murray, transportation planner, Municipal Systems Program for BC Transit, wrote Salmon Arm council to report on the success of the promotion. Using numbers compiled to mid-August, he said the student share of ridership increased from nine per cent prior to the trial to nearly 30 per cent during it. "It is hoped that the transit system can retain some of these riders when the free trial period ends," he wrote. Murray recommended that to achieve the goal, the student monthly pass price be reduced to $25 from $36. He noted that although the cash fare in the Shuswap is $1.25 per ride, slightly lower than BC Transit's municipal average of $1.35, the monthly rate of $36 is higher. "...The monthly pass is priced significantly higher than the Municipal Systems average of just under $28. On average, student monthly passes in the Municipal Systems are priced at about 21 times the cash fare, compared with nearly 29 times the cash fare in Shuswap," he wrote. Murray said the change in overall revenue to the transit system with the reduced monthly pass would be minimal. Because only two to three student passes were sold per month between Sept. 2005 and June 2006, "an $11 price reduction would mean a loss of $275 in annual revenue, but it is very likely that this would be more than offset by increased pass sales." Charlie Ward, the city's director of operations, presented a memo recommending the reduction in the student monthly pass price to council at its Oct. 10 meeting, noting that Monica Dalziel, the city's director of corporate services, supports the recommendation. Council voted unanimously in favour of lowering the monthly rate to $25 from $36. Coun. Chad Eliason, who initiated the plan to provide free bus rides for students over the summer, asked if the reduced fee would apply to Okanagan College students as well as school district students. He was told it would.