Fewer transit riders in 2017 leaves city out projected $4.1M

Fewer people rode buses or the LRT in Edmonton last year than city administration anticipated, leaving the city short $4.1 million in its operating budget.

City administration presented preliminary year-end financial results to council last week, showing the decline in transit revenues.

The economic downturn is partly to blame, administration said. Fewerpeople working means fewer taking transit, the operations department said.

Edmonton transit service also raised fares in 2017, which may have added to reluctance on the part of some ridersto take the bus or LRT.

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"Most transit organizations experience a slight decrease in ridership when there is a fare increase," the operations departmentsaid.

However, Coun. Jon Dziadyk thinks the drop in ridership reflects more than the economy.

"I think this just highlights that we need to do better at providing the type of transit that people want," he said.

Councillor for the north side's Ward 3, Dziadyk said he has heard from constituents asking for a better bus system.

"Higher frequency of regular buses might be the better way to go before we really get on with expensiveinfrastructure, heavy transit projects."

Overall transit ridership has been on a downward trend since 2013. The city measures ridership by yearly per capita trips, which dropped slightly from 103 in 2013 to 97 in 2016.

In addition to economic conditions, the city said on its website that population has "increased at a faster rate than transit service hours, particularly in the outer areas of the city."

Meanwhile, LRT ridership has increased steadily over the past several years.

Cynthia Burketakes the LRT from Clareview to downtown instead of taking a bus.

"The times are not very good, it's not very convenient from my location," Burke told CBC News Monday.

She said she's in favour of the city investing more in LRT and buses.

"There's a lot of areas in the city that there's not great service for people."

Ed Robinson lived in Edmonton for 35 years andis now a visitor, house sitting for a family member who lives in Highlands.

He and his partner are taking advantage of inexpensive seniors' bus passes to get around, he said.

"They should not hesitate to spend money on it," Robinson said of LRT expansion. "If you look at the schedule and take the time to understand what you're doing, we find the system very efficient."

New bus network

A new bus network redesign is estimated to cost $4 million nearly the same amount the city lost in projected revenues from the drop in ridership.

Last week, city council agreed to inject $2.2 million in to new bus network redesign, in addition to $1.8 million city council approved in the fall.

The city aims to make the transit system more attractive to more people and tie the bus network in with LRT expansion.

"We're going to have an opportunity coming up to really nail this down and understand why Edmontonians aren't taking transit to the extent that we would expect,"Dziadyksaid.

The bus network redesign is part of the transit strategy, approved by council in 2017.

Consultations with the public are expected to begin this April.

@natashariebe