Mayoral candidate Cody Cacciotti says the city could be doing more to make Sudbury Transit more senior-friendly, thereby increasing ridership for the service.
In a release today, the candidate who works at the Northern Ontario Railroad Museum and Heritage Centre in Capreol, said with an aging population, the city should be doing all it can to ensure seniors have the ability to get around the city efficiently.
Cacciotti also resurrected a campaign promise that other candidates have used in the past: promising to push for free rides for senior citizens on city buses.
“As mayor, I would advocate for council to consider free senior transit fares during non-peak hours and a review that ensures routes are indeed senior friendly,” Cacciotti said. “This decision could have several significant benefits to our existing transit program.”
One of those benefits would be to increase ridership.
“In 2015, a study showed that increasing ridership by 100,000 users would result in an extra
$26,000 in funding,” he said. “The returns may be modest, but empty buses running throughout the city are not generating income if no one is riding them.”
What’s more, Cacciotti said he would support the creation of a citizens’ transit committee “to help revamp Greater Sudbury’s transit system.”
The full text of Cacciotti’s news release is below.
The City of Greater Sudbury needs to ensure that its transit system is senior friendly. With an aging population, we must make certain that all citizens, especially seniors have the ability to navigate the city efficiently and have access to essential services.
As mayor, I would advocate for council to consider free senior transit fares during non-peak hours and a review that ensures routes are indeed senior friendly. This decision could have several significant benefits to our existing transit program.
The City of Greater Sudbury's gas tax allocation towards transit is based on ridership numbers.
In 2015, a study showed that increasing ridership by 100,000 users would result in an extra
$26,000 in funding. The returns may be modest, but empty buses running throughout the city are not generating income if no one is riding them.
The more substantial benefits are possible if we make sure that downtown-bound buses are passing by essential services such as the YMCA, the Parkside Centre and the Larch Medical Centre. Servicing these sites directly could encourage seniors to utilize transit and alleviate parking concerns in the downtown core.
It may also take some of the pressure off of our Handi-Transit program for citizens unable to travel from the bus terminal to downtown sites by foot, especially during the winter months when forced to deal with ice, snow and high snowbanks.
I believe that the establishment of a citizen transit committee is also necessary to help revamp Greater Sudbury's transit system. The committee, comprised mainly of citizens with representation from staff and council, would meet regularly to ensure that the service is being delivered effectively to users. This will ensure that moving forward, we are leveraging our municipal assets appropriately in an effort to provide quality service to our tax payers.
I will be taking part in the Critics of Sudbury Transit challenge this Sunday, September 30th (a challenge for all candidates to travel downtown using transit) to gain a better understanding of the challenges faced by regular transit users and how we can further improve service to all areas of the city.
I would encourage all other candidates to do so as well.
Learn more about Cacciotti by visiting his election page on Sudbury.com.
