Region of Waterloo increasing transit fare budget for 2020
Posted Jan 20, 2020 04:55:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
2019 saw the arrival of the ION in Waterloo Region, and with it, more people using public transit.
Across the board, ridership was up 10 percent since ION started, and this has the Region projecting higher fare revenues for 2020, eight per cent higher in fact.
In 2019, the Region estimated fare revenues would ring in around $39.4 million. The actual number was just under a million dollars higher at $40.2 million.
Now, for 2020, they are expecting $43.4 million in transit fare revenue.
Regional Councillor Tom Galloway told the The Mike Farwell Show on 570 NEWS, those higher numbers also take into consideration that 2020 will see a whole year of the ION trains and buses in operation, rather than just half a year.
“The central transit corridor which goes from Ainslie to Conestoga Mall using ION bus and ION LRT, the usage of that particular corridor, which was done by buses before, is up by 30 percent.”
He adds, there are still equipment and software problems the supplier is working to fix, something he admits has been taking longer than he would have liked.
Overall, Galloway tells the show, the system is convenient for regional riders, but Regional Council is still working to increase the frequency of buses and trains, especially in Cambridge.
“Frequency is really critical to people being able to rely on a transit system, and be able to on occasion or regularly park their car in the driveway.”
That is up for discussion at Regional Council on Wednesday.
