Calgary bus routes threatened after Alberta cuts $2.3M seniors grant

By Kim Guttormson, Calgary Herald

The city may have to further reduce some transit routes after the provincial government cut a $2.3-million grant to the city that helped offset seniors passes.

"We'll feel that," said Mac Logan, general manager of transportation. "We have an unfavourable variance and that impacts our ability to add the kind of service council wants us to add.

"We'll have to adjust our hours later in the year if we continue to run an unfavourable variance."

Logan said the situation will be monitored on a month-to-month basis.

At the end of the first quarter, transit was below budget by $689,000, with $575,000 of that attributed to the loss of the grant. Its budget 2010 budget is $159 million.

During last fall's budget discussions, 21,500 operating vehicle hours were cut from total service levels of more than 2.4 million, mostly by reducing hourly service on less frequently used routes.

Ald. Gord Lowe said he's not in favour of a further reduction of hours if it can be avoided.

"Any reduction in transit service is a massive concern," Lowe said, adding it's usually routes in new communities that haven't built up ridership that get crimped. "It's the areas that most need transit."

The province has given the city the unconditional grant for years. Since 1999, the city has used it to help pay for the reduced-price passes for seniors, which it will continue to offer.

Last year, 28,765 seniors passes were sold at a cost of $35 a year for a regular pass, $15 for a low-income pass. Regular adult riders pay $85.25 for a monthly pass.

Lynn Podgurny, assistant to the CEO of the Kerby Centre, said the passes are important to poorer seniors who want to remain independent.

"The majority who use them are low-income seniors," she said. "They're valuable because without them, a lot of these seniors wouldn't be going out."

In March, the city was told it wouldn't receive the grant money this year as the province strived to keep its own budget in check.

"The grant was in place when we approved our budget (last fall)," said Lowe, chairman of the finance committee. "It has the potential of giving us a negative variance of $2.3 million. It's going to impact the transit budget."

kguttormson@theherald. canwest.com

This article was published in the Calgary Herald on May 13, 2010. Read the full article on the CalgaryHearald.com website.