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Susan Ruttan, Edmonton Journal
6 ]' F' _( A/ X" cPublished: Friday, March 30, 2007
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The cost of a monthly transit pass could jump by $15 if city council endorses a proposed new transit fare policy.
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That policy would use the cost of an adult transit ticket, currently $2.50, to set all other fares charged by Edmonton Transit.! ~9 n/ o( ^1 Z# P8 d
4 X. } X1 ]. Q6 B+ _ [It would end the random system of fare increases being approved each year by city council. Council in December voted to raise the adult ticket by 25 cents, but left the $59 monthly adult pass untouched.. l6 x2 F0 e; F3 X( u
1 X$ m! x: b ~& P$ R* S9 A+ VIn the new formula, any increase in the adult cash fare would trigger increases in all other fares.
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It’s proposed that the adult monthly pass would cost 55 per cent of the cost of a cash fare, assuming an average transit rider takes 54 trips a month. That works out to $74, about the same price as a monthly pass in St. Albert, Strathcona County and Calgary.6 H' M) y' }2 _/ d, M# [% ]
5 V9 D/ J1 |& |0 @“Currently our cash fares and month passes are priced below comparable organizations,” said Patricia Waisman, director of business development for Edmonton Transit.) r9 D! E5 H; _0 D. k
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The new system of all fares being based on the basic fare would help to correct that, she said.2 f' n, F7 ]0 L$ `% p
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Waisman said the “multiplier” in the formula, the average 54 trips a month, varies from city to city. In Toronto the multiplier would be a bigger number, in Lethbridge a smaller number.2 f8 j6 S( i$ l! m/ l7 i+ b
& {4 u! I! _* Q% Q5 M# QThe proposed change acts on a recommendation of the city auditor David Wiun.2 M0 Y2 {7 B, B% K/ J+ o
3 j! g# s4 e" {- }* X3 ~0 \In a recent report, he said Edmonton’s transit passes and cash fares are 11 to 14 per cent below that of comparable cities. The result is that Edmonton taxpayers must pay a greater share of transit’s budget than in those other cities, he said. |
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