doady
Senior Member
Like what recently happened to Toronto and York Region, lots of transit service cuts being considered in towns of Oakville and Milton, despite growing and record ridership levels, in order to the "reduce impact on taxpayers." In both cases, both systems had seen major improvements recently, and these cuts would undo much of that. Similar to TTC isn't it?
So in the GTA, only Brampton, Mississauga, Burlington, and Durham will not cut transit service this year.
Oakville will see the loss of two bus routes and the elimination of Sunday and holiday service, combined with increased fares.
The cuts to Milton Transit will probably the most drastic, despite a more than 30% increase in ridership in 2010, and a 25% increase projected for 2011. What's funny about all this is how Milton's mayor justified cutting transit funding and service: to reduce air pollution and "improve transit" (see article below). Yeah... it's all for the environment and the riders.
Transit budget could be cut
Christina Commisso, CANADIAN CHAMPION STAFF
February 10, 2011
At a time where Milton Transit is experiencing an unprecedented spike in ridership, town council is considering a significant cut to next year’s transit budget.
Councillor Rick Malboeuf proposed a motion that asks staff to mull over a $285,000 reduction in transit’s 2012 operating budget, which was passed by council during budget deliberations.
Malboeuf said the cost of transit is too high for the number of residents who use it. Currently, the Town subsidizes Milton Transit (MT) about $10 for every ride taken — an amount he says is too much for the tax base to absorb.
“The biggest thing I hear about is large, empty buses driving up and down the streets,” said Malboeuf, who sits on the Transit Advisory Committee. “We never really had transit in town. There are usually two or three cars in every driveway. People are not used to it and it doesn’t make sense to run transit through (certain areas). Where we are not being efficient, we can’t continue to have taxpayers subsidize the costs.”
However, since rolling out a revamped transit system that included new routes, two-way service and reduced wait times, bus ridership has never been higher.
Overall transit boarding increased by 50 per cent from September to December 2010, after the Town expanded the service by about 35 per cent.
“Milton surpassed almost 160,000 boardings in 2010, versus 120,000 in 2009. It’s unprecedented in the transit industry. It’s something to be proud of,” said the Town’s transit co-ordinator Tony D’Alessandro.
In terms of empty buses, he said on average there are 14 rides per hour during peak periods, and 12 rides during off peak-hours.
“You can’t just stop service in the middle of the day. For those people who really depend on transit and who don’t have an automobile, we want to provide some basic level of mobility,” said D’Alessandro, adding that a drastic change in service between peak and off peak hours will confuse transit users.
During recent budget deliberations, staff warned council that a $285,000 cut would have a severe implication on the system.
The funding decrease would means the elimination of almost two of the town’s five routes. “Currently we have momentum,” said Milton’s Director of Engineering, Paul Cripps. “Ridership is growing and the system is more used. It we cut (the budget) now, we’ll lose that.”
Cripps also pointed out the Town has signed a contractual agreement with service provider PW Transit that doesn’t expire for another four years. D’Alessandro added that the cut would be contrary to both Provincial and Federal transportation policies.
Ward 8 Councillor Zeeshan Hamid, who also sits on the transit committee, said it’s important to look at transit as part of the whole transportation network.
“The goal of a transportation network is to move people around, not to move cars around. Last year there were 160,000 people not driving on Milton roads, and this year we’re expecting more than 200,000 (transit) riders.”
Hamid added that there’s only so much the Town can do with five bus routes
“Sometimes you have to add more connections to enable people to take transit,” he said. “We’re building (transit) up. But we can’t build it all in one day.”
When asked about the environmental and infrastructure costs of more cars on the road, Malboeuf said empty buses are causing air pollution and wear and tear on Milton’s roads. Hamid, on the other hand, said in the long run, the cost of reducing transit will be hefty.
“Culturally, we’ve accepted the cost of maintaining roads and bridges. But we don’t think about the efficiencies, about getting more value out of the roads by using buses.”
Hamid added that it’s important to take into consideration Milton’s changing demographics. Pointing to the Milton Education Village that will see thousands of students, many who will use transit, and Milton’s burgeoning teenage population, who are one of the biggest transit user groups, Hamid said the community’s need for buses will only grow from here.
“It’s in our best interest from a safety point of view to provide (teens) with a reasonable means of transportation as opposed to encouraging them to drive everywhere.”
Malboeuf said he’s not trying to shut down transit, only improve it.
“I want to make it available for the people who need it, taking into considering the impact on the tax payer,” he said.
“We on the transit committee have a year to find those savings, because they money is not going to be there next year.”
The 2011 transit operating budget is about $2.5 million, and the system is expected to generate just under $1 million in revenue.
http://www.insidehalton.com/news/article/953366--transit-budget-could-be-cut
So in the GTA, only Brampton, Mississauga, Burlington, and Durham will not cut transit service this year.
Oakville will see the loss of two bus routes and the elimination of Sunday and holiday service, combined with increased fares.
The cuts to Milton Transit will probably the most drastic, despite a more than 30% increase in ridership in 2010, and a 25% increase projected for 2011. What's funny about all this is how Milton's mayor justified cutting transit funding and service: to reduce air pollution and "improve transit" (see article below). Yeah... it's all for the environment and the riders.
Transit budget could be cut
Christina Commisso, CANADIAN CHAMPION STAFF
February 10, 2011
At a time where Milton Transit is experiencing an unprecedented spike in ridership, town council is considering a significant cut to next year’s transit budget.
Councillor Rick Malboeuf proposed a motion that asks staff to mull over a $285,000 reduction in transit’s 2012 operating budget, which was passed by council during budget deliberations.
Malboeuf said the cost of transit is too high for the number of residents who use it. Currently, the Town subsidizes Milton Transit (MT) about $10 for every ride taken — an amount he says is too much for the tax base to absorb.
“The biggest thing I hear about is large, empty buses driving up and down the streets,” said Malboeuf, who sits on the Transit Advisory Committee. “We never really had transit in town. There are usually two or three cars in every driveway. People are not used to it and it doesn’t make sense to run transit through (certain areas). Where we are not being efficient, we can’t continue to have taxpayers subsidize the costs.”
However, since rolling out a revamped transit system that included new routes, two-way service and reduced wait times, bus ridership has never been higher.
Overall transit boarding increased by 50 per cent from September to December 2010, after the Town expanded the service by about 35 per cent.
“Milton surpassed almost 160,000 boardings in 2010, versus 120,000 in 2009. It’s unprecedented in the transit industry. It’s something to be proud of,” said the Town’s transit co-ordinator Tony D’Alessandro.
In terms of empty buses, he said on average there are 14 rides per hour during peak periods, and 12 rides during off peak-hours.
“You can’t just stop service in the middle of the day. For those people who really depend on transit and who don’t have an automobile, we want to provide some basic level of mobility,” said D’Alessandro, adding that a drastic change in service between peak and off peak hours will confuse transit users.
During recent budget deliberations, staff warned council that a $285,000 cut would have a severe implication on the system.
The funding decrease would means the elimination of almost two of the town’s five routes. “Currently we have momentum,” said Milton’s Director of Engineering, Paul Cripps. “Ridership is growing and the system is more used. It we cut (the budget) now, we’ll lose that.”
Cripps also pointed out the Town has signed a contractual agreement with service provider PW Transit that doesn’t expire for another four years. D’Alessandro added that the cut would be contrary to both Provincial and Federal transportation policies.
Ward 8 Councillor Zeeshan Hamid, who also sits on the transit committee, said it’s important to look at transit as part of the whole transportation network.
“The goal of a transportation network is to move people around, not to move cars around. Last year there were 160,000 people not driving on Milton roads, and this year we’re expecting more than 200,000 (transit) riders.”
Hamid added that there’s only so much the Town can do with five bus routes
“Sometimes you have to add more connections to enable people to take transit,” he said. “We’re building (transit) up. But we can’t build it all in one day.”
When asked about the environmental and infrastructure costs of more cars on the road, Malboeuf said empty buses are causing air pollution and wear and tear on Milton’s roads. Hamid, on the other hand, said in the long run, the cost of reducing transit will be hefty.
“Culturally, we’ve accepted the cost of maintaining roads and bridges. But we don’t think about the efficiencies, about getting more value out of the roads by using buses.”
Hamid added that it’s important to take into consideration Milton’s changing demographics. Pointing to the Milton Education Village that will see thousands of students, many who will use transit, and Milton’s burgeoning teenage population, who are one of the biggest transit user groups, Hamid said the community’s need for buses will only grow from here.
“It’s in our best interest from a safety point of view to provide (teens) with a reasonable means of transportation as opposed to encouraging them to drive everywhere.”
Malboeuf said he’s not trying to shut down transit, only improve it.
“I want to make it available for the people who need it, taking into considering the impact on the tax payer,” he said.
“We on the transit committee have a year to find those savings, because they money is not going to be there next year.”
The 2011 transit operating budget is about $2.5 million, and the system is expected to generate just under $1 million in revenue.
http://www.insidehalton.com/news/article/953366--transit-budget-could-be-cut
