B.C. Transit warns ridership will suffer under provincial budget
Credit to Author: Rob Shaw| Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2020 23:34:55 +0000
VICTORIA — The head of B.C. Transit is warning that ridership could start to suffer as early as next year because of underfunding from the government in Tuesday’s provincial budget.
Transit CEO Erinn Pinkerton said that while B.C. Transit is able to dip into its operational reserves to make up for smaller-than-expected government funding in the coming 2020-21 fiscal year, which starts April 1, the larger worry is that the budget plans a funding freeze for the subsequent two years ending 2023.
“Year 2 and 3 operations revenue, you can see a trend going down,” Pinkerton said Thursday. “And that’s because at this point in the service plan, the budget does not go up enough to grow ridership. Which means you lose your operations revenue.”
The funding issues could have major implications in communities like Victoria, Prince George, Kamloops, and Cranbrook. B.C. Transit is responsible for transit bus service across B.C., except in Metro Vancouver.
Finance Minister Carole James said Thursday she had not heard directly from B.C. Transit about its concerns.
The NDP government has promised to invest more in public transit to increase ridership, reduce gridlock, cut pollution from vehicles and help the province reach its climate change goals.
However, Tuesday’s budget relied on cuts in many ministries, combined with new tax measures on high-income earners and sugary drinks, to post a small surplus during what James described as challenging economic times.
Revenue from B.C. Transit tickets and fare boxes is predicted to drop 6.63 per cent over those two years as ridership stalls, according to B.C. Transit’s service plan tabled with the provincial budget. Pinkerton said B.C. Transit needs funding growth at more than the rate of inflation to increase ridership.
“What the service plan is showing is that if you hold it flat, that means you’re not keeping up with demand, you’re not putting in the services that are needed,” said Pinkerton. “So you’re not going to get the ridership you need, which means you don’t get the revenue.”
Tuesday’s provincial budget outlined $602 million over three years in capital funding for new buses, including 10 battery-electric buses expected to go into service in Victoria in 2021-22.
But Pinkerton worries annual operational dollars is not enough grow ridership and keep all the new vehicles running.
“We make decisions 18 to 24 months in advance on investments that need operating funding to run them and support them,” said Pinkerton. The funding freeze makes it hard to plan the large transit agency’s future, she said.
“Overall, when we’re looking at the level of investment and demand and growth that’s been asked for around the province, there needs to be a certainty to the funding and a level of growth that aligns to that,” she said.
“When you look at a capital plan growing by that much, it’s hard to work in an annual cycle where you’re just not sure what’s happening in the next year.”
The provincial budget reduced the operational funding lift it had promised B.C. Transit in last year’s budget by almost two per cent, to $119 million.
While that still amounts to more operational money than in 2019-20, it’s a smaller increase than what the agency had anticipated, said Pinkerton. The government asked B.C. Transit to begin to draw from its operational surplus, which was $26.3 million in 2019, to make up for the changes.
Local governments are expected to roughly match the province, amounting to $117 million of B.C. Transit’s $371-million budget next year.
Pinkerton said she hopes the province will reconsider next year and increase funding.
James said she’s receptive to the concerns.
“I’m sure we’ll hear from B.C. Transit if they’re concerned about next year’s budget, that they want to see more resources,” said James. “There are always changes in every year’s budget and if they feel there are more resources (needed), of course that will be taken into consideration.”
Mayors that rely on B.C. Transit service are concerned about the funding, said the Union of B.C. Municipalities president, Maja Tait, who is also mayor of Sooke.
“The cut to B.C. Transit’s operational funding for this year followed by two years of freezes was not something that local governments expected from this budget,” she said.
“B.C. Transit provides service in partnership with 59 local governments, and we are already hearing questions about how this decision will affect plans to expand service and increase ridership.”
Liberal critic Marvin Hunt said curtailing spending at B.C. Transit does not match up to the NDP’s promise to shorten daily commutes for people.
“If you are not spending and improving the transit system, ridership goes down,” he said.
Hunt, a former Surrey councillor and former chair of Metro Vancouver’s board, said B.C. Transit should be allowed to carry surpluses without being penalized by government with reduced funding.
“This idea, no, they’ve got to spend the surplus, do we do that at home?” he asked. “We have an emergency fund. Things happen. Buses break down. You’ve got to have some contingencies, just like (James) has in her budget.”