Transit funding comes with a hitch

By WOLF DEPNERWestern News StaffApr 06 2007 http://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/

The city has received funding for a new bus route that promises to carry citizens from lake to lake along Main Street. But it is not clear yet whether the city can actually to afford this new route. “First of all, we are pleased that the province in sending some money in our direction,” said Rory McIvor, acting mayor. But the city now faces a “conundrum” about what to do next because the provincial funding will cover only a portion of what it actually costs to run the route scheduled to start in January, he said. “City council will receive and reflect on the offer and decide how to respond to it,” he said. Mitch Moroziuk, director of engineering and development services, said the total cost of providing the new route is $588,000, with B.C. Transit supplying $222,000. This means the city is responsible for the remaining $366,000, with no money currently in the budget for a lake-to-lake route, he added.

“That equates to a three per cent rate hike,” said McIvor. Wednesday’s announcement by local MLA Bill Barisoff came shortly after the city had dropped plans for a lake-to-lake service because of budgetary constraints. Barisoff said the new bus service will connect Okanagan and Skaha lakes, running run along Main Street every 30 minutes, starting in January next year. “With the recent growth in the south end of Penticton this new bus service will really assist area residents, in particular seniors,” said Barisoff. “At the same time it will help bring more citizens to the many available services in our downtown core.” The additional funding for Penticton Transit comes from a $10 million fund for the expansion of services in 25 communities. Communities will also benefit from $22 million in funding which will be used to purchase 121 buses to expand public transit.

This funding is on top of $52.5 million announced by the Union of British Columbia Municipalities to support local government investments in public transit infrastructure. This spree of funding announcements coincides with an increase in provincial ridership by three per cent to 17.9 million passengers, according to the latest statistics released last year. But local ridership actually decreased by two per cent from 2004/2005 to 2005/2006, from 309,579 passengers to 302,340. HandyDART ridership rose to 12,256 from 11,534 during the same period. Tom Fairburn hops on the bus on Government Street Thursday to go for his morning coffee.
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Apr 06 2007 EDITORIAL Transit funding puts the cart before the bus

Wednesday’s news that the province would help fund a new bus route is welcome, but perhaps premature. The provincial announcement that the city would receive $222,000 for a new lake-to-lake service along Main Street came only hours after the public learned that the city could not afford such a service. There is no denying the benefits of such a service, and the city must be pleased to see the province come to the table. But this new funding covers less than half of the route’s pricetag of $588,000. This puts city council in a dilemma. Should they, or can they, afford to go ahead with instituting the transit route? The city is running a tight ship this year. With only $20,000 left in discretionary funding, it doesn’t seem likely that they will be able to pull together the $366,000 necessary for implementation.

In fact, the announcement came hot on the heels of the city’s decision to drop plans for a lake-to-lake service because of budgetary constraints. It’s unfair of the province to leave the city holding the bag without being versed in the financial restraints facing the region. Adding to the gaffe of overestimating the city’s ability to cough up the money necessary, the province announced that the route will be up and running by January. This was a surprise to city officials. It seems as though the city has been put between a rock and a hard place. In a region so densely populated by seniors it’s clear that there would be immense benefits to the additional service. As MLA Bill Barisoff said, with the recent growth in the south end of Penticton, a new bus service would really assist area residents in particular seniors. Additionally it could help liven up the downtown core as more citizens could access the many shops and services. And then there are all the green benefits of funneling people from their cars into a public transit system.

However, regardless of all the wondrous things that could come out of the development of this line, there’s reality remains that there is little hope in magically conjuring an extra $366,000 this year. The only thing that seems possible at the moment would be an increase to property taxes. Or, maybe the city needs to ramp up their lobbying efforts to high levels of government for more adequate financial support. This situation highlights the imbalances municipalities face when left to provide a service of high demand, while drawing funds from a limited tax base.