Following the introduction last week of a sweeping reform plan for Greater Sudbury Transit, some city councillors want the city to go even further to increase ridership.
Michelle Ferrigan, the city's director of transit services, outlined the highlights of the first stage of the reform plan to councillors Feb. 12, which is being implemented within the existing transit budget.
Key among those changes is a reduction of routes to 27 from 38, with some poor performing routes being dropped in favour of more frequent service on the most heavily used ones.
New hubs beyond downtown – one in the South End and another in New Sudbury – mean that all buses will no longer loop downtown. Instead, they will will loop into the new hubs, providing more frequent access to different parts of the city, as well as shorter trips.
Once the changes are implemented, bus transfers will last longer – 90 minutes – and riders can use them to get back on the same bus. Previously, transfers could only be used for a different destination.
While lauding the plan, members of the city's finance and administration committee wondered whether more aggressive measures would go further toward the goal of a big boost in ridership, with has been flat in recent years.
Among the options included a proposal to reduce the cost of a monthly bus pass to $60 for everyone, compared to $88 for adults and $75 for students. If ridership stays the same, the move would cost taxpayers $250,000 a year, or $90,000 for the remainder of 2019, if it's implemented this fall.
But if ridership does increase, a jump of 10.8 per cent in monthly passes would be required to make up the loss in fares and make it revenue neutral.
Ward 5 Coun. Bob Kirwan said this is the first time transit has been reformed since amalgamation, so they should be willing to take big steps. Without a dramatic change in something like the price, he doubts it will work.
“I'm going to make a bold prediction – we're not going to see a big increase in ridership,” Kirwan said, if they don't make a bigger change. “Let's go all in. This is our chance.
“Let's not put shackles around it by not touching the financial aspect of it, the security aspect of it. This is our time to take a risk.”
Ward 4 Coun. Geoff McCausland argued that rather than just reducing the cost, he said improving the value of transit to residents by adding more service hours would have a better chance of improving passenger numbers.
“It's the difference between cost and value,” McCausland said.
And Ward 1 Coun. Mark Signoretti said it doesn't matter how cheap it is if the bus routes aren't getting you where you need to go on time.
“We can't just look at cost, we have to look at convenience as well,” Signoretti said.
“What would give us the best return on investment to increase ridership?” asked Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh. “What is our best bet?”
Ferrigan said residents have consistently told them that adding service – longer operating hours, more frequent stops on holidays and Sundays -- is “the number one area that” would increase ridership.
“Fares certainly help, but convenience is the best investment.”
Ward 8 Coun. Al Sizer said this budget is already extremely tight, so he's reluctant to add more unplanned expenses.
“I'm concerned about the risk involved,” he said.
Mayor Brian Bigger pointed out that, with the transit reform plan coming in August, any reduced fares or added service would only be for part of the year. So $60 monthly pass option would cost $90,000 for 2019, not $250,000.
In the end, council deferred a decision until they begin voting on actual budget decisions Wednesday and (if necessary) Thursday.
