City of WL Transit Fares going up (Updated)

Earlier tonight - A majority of WL Council, meeting in Committee of the Whole, agreed to a recommendation from the City's CAO (Brian Carruthers) to rise Transit Fares over various categories.

See his report here

Councillor SPS Rathor opposed this.  The decision to raise transit fares for the City's transit system will be ratified formally on Tuesday, April 19th

At a time when all other costs are going up for families/seniors/students - now may not be the most opportune time to raise transit fares.  We'll soon see later this year if this decision will have any impact on re-election campaigns for Mayor Cook and City Councillors Barr, Bourdon, Rathor, Walters and Zacharias

UPDATE (April 13th) - From the City of WL:

In order to balance affordability and cost-effectiveness of the Williams Lake Transit service, City Council agreed at its Committee of the Whole meeting April 12 to increase fares.

The proposed increases are as follows:

Cash Fares:

Adult $1.00 to $1.25
Senior /Student $.75 to $1.00

Book Tickets:

Adult $.95 to $1.13
Seniors/Students $.70 to $.90

Monthly Passes:

Adult $32.00 to $37.00
Senior/Student $24.00 to $28.00

handyDART $1.50 to $1.75

Operating costs for the transit service are increasing. Estimated revenues for the 2010/2011 operating year are $107,831, operating costs are $749,713, and the City’s share of the costs after revenue is $300,861.

The proposed fares would result in an annual revenue increase of approximately $5,246, reducing the City’s share of costs for the service. Total transit ridership has increased since 2003/2004, from
66,884 rides to 69,701 in 2010/2011.

Cash fares for transit have not increased since BC Transit became involved in the handyDART service in 1986 and a conventional transit route began in 1993, and fares are currently the lowest in British Columbia. The proposed increases would still leave Williams Lake with the second-lowest lowest fares in the province, along with Naskusp.

The City’s share of costs is collected through an annual tax levy. In 2010, the cost to residential tax payers for Transit was $0.117 per $1,000 of assessed value. As an example, a property valued at $250,000 would pay approximately $30 per year for the Transit levy.

“We want to mitigate the effects of increased operating costs on taxpayers,” says Mayor Kerry Cook. “We’re proud of our transit system, and the excellent service it provides, and we’re proud that we can keep fares among the lowest in the entire province.”

Resolutions from Committee of the Whole meetings are not in effect until formally adopted by Council at the April 19th Regular Council Meeting. If approved, the fare increase would be coordinated with BC Transit