(rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

By Alessia Proietti

Zero-emissions buses needed for funding

BUDGET: public transit ridership increase, parking revenues decrease

Jan 24, 2024 | 10:10 PM

While public transit ridership is rising, revenues from parking are taking a hit, according to the City of Red Deer during day two of the 2024 budget deliberations.

The Community Services Division shared their budgetary updates, noting that as transit levels have returned to pre-COVID numbers, the City is preparing to return to regular evening service levels.

Councillor Bruce Buruma questioned if transit fleet replacement could be extended for a year or two to reduce budget costs. Sarah Tittemore, General Manager of Community Services, stated that life cycles for busses were increased to their maximum in 2018 to 18 years, which can inadvertently lead to issues like increased maintenance needs.

Within the capital plan, over $4 million are also being allocated to Zero Emissions transit bus replacements and infrastructure for 2025. Tittemore says while the federal government has traditionally funded 80 per cent of bus replacement costs, they have stated they will no longer provide the grant if busses are not zero emissions by 2025.

On the flip side, parking and fine revenues have not recovered from pre-pandemic levels due to the new HotSpot electronic payment program.

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The City says the downtown parkade across Sorensen Station was initially built in 2010 due to high demand. Costing $15 million, it was blocked from daily users due to security reasons and reserved for monthly pass holders. Today, the parkade has a current utilization of only 30 per cent of roughly 400 available stalls.

With the new Justice Centre opening soon in downtown, administration anticipates an increase in usage; however, the building will also have its own underground parking available for employees.

Mike Olesen, General Manager of Growth & Finance, says the overall revenue from parking and fines were roughly $1.7 annually.

With HotSpot costing $2.5 million to implement, fully funded by a provincial grant, General Manager of Development Services Erin Stuart said they expect to see revenues of $700,000 this year, with an annual fee of four per cent to the third-party company. She added they anticipate an evaluation on the program after 18 months of its use.

READ: City of Red Deer receives over 200 toys and counting for their Toys for Tickets campaign

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