Vernon council has endorsed the North Okanagan future transit plan, covering bus service over the next 25 years. One of the goals is to have 2.5% of all trips in Greater Vernon (the mode share target) made by transit by 2038. That would mean an increase in ridership from 445,330 to 1.4 million trips per year in Vernon and Coldstream. Councillor Bob Spiers says fare increases may be needed to offset the plan's impact on ratepayers. "For the next five years their figures show $1.3 million of possible expenditures, divide that by 5 and that's $260,000 which is a 1% tax (city) increase each year, guaranteed," says Spiers. Spiers says perhaps a way to offset tax increases would be to consider fare hikes. "We haven't looked at those in ten years," he says. The 25 year plan calls for expanding from 24 to 48 vehicles, adding three new transit exchanges at the Village Green Centre, Polson Mall, and Okanagan College, along with Park and Ride lots in Armstrong and at Okanagan College.
-------
107.5 KISSFM DAILY Poll Results FINAL
 Do you think transit upgrades should be paid through extra taxes, or should fare increases be considered? | ||
|---|---|---|
| fare hikes | ||
| 18- | 50.0% | |
| don't see a need for improved transit | ||
| 11- | 30.6% | |
| taxes | ||
| 7- | 19.4% | |
| Number of Voters | : 30 |
NORTH OKANAGAN TRANSIT FUTURE PLAN FINAL DOCUMENT (P. 229)
 |
| 5 year Possible Expenditures P.263 |
No comments:
Post a Comment