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Susan Ruttan, Edmonton Journal( k; ?" J' }$ [9 n( M' C" ?
Published: Friday, March 30, 2007) J- ^$ e" @/ V: @: A
* C1 N9 {! U2 G! z, U. v6 }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.
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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.
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In the new formula, any increase in the adult cash fare would trigger increases in all other fares.: V9 u) y3 W: i! `6 E. a8 _" d
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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 $74, about the same price as a monthly pass in St. Albert, Strathcona County and Calgary.8 b! w, U) X- o; C( i6 ^
& C" s* T2 H4 u. r R, K0 e# ]“Currently our cash fares and month passes are priced below comparable organizations,” said Patricia Waisman, director of business development for Edmonton Transit.
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The new system of all fares being based on the basic fare would help to correct that, she said.
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7 B9 h' I3 }/ c" [) ^ qWaisman said the “multiplier” in the formula, the average 54 trips a month, varies from city to city. In Toronto the multiplier would be a bigger number, in Lethbridge a smaller number.& F( d- L* P/ W, {' |. Y5 s
( _0 T5 ?7 c# ^' g2 i$ q4 FThe proposed change acts on a recommendation of the city auditor David Wiun.
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2 F& i9 u' L$ B) b) l; H& h* j ~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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