Discounts offered to Sault Transit riders who buy passes instead of paying per ride are inconsistent and need to be reviewed for possible fare increases, city council will be told Monday.
Councillors will be asked to approve a fare structure review after Jeremy Finkleman, a Toronto-based senior transportation consultant from the global professional services giant WSP, presents findings from a $159,421 study commissioned by the city.
Finkleman and city staff will present a comprehensive strategic plan for Sault Transit over the coming five and 10 years.
The fare review is just one of many suggestions for a sweeping overhaul of Sault Transit.
Other proposed changes include a network of new 'Sault Loops' bus routes, elimination of the on-demand dispatching of buses on weekend evenings, and revisiting the question of whether the downtown bus terminal should be moved to 111 Huron Street.
Cash fare on a Sault Ste. Marie city bus is $3.50 (exact change required)
Here are the current pass prices:
- 20-ride pass $55.00
- adult 31-day pass $79.00
- youth 31-day pass (Age 13-18) $34.25
- semester pass (Algoma U & Sault College) $215.00
- senior 31-day pass (60 & over) $67.00
- senior 12-ride pass (60 & over) $24.00
The senior 31-day pass (60 & over), good for 46 trips, is cut $94.00 from the $161 undiscounted fare.
The youth 31-day pass (Age 13-18), also providing 46 trips, is discounted $126.75 from $161.00 cash fare.
The parabus senior 12-ride pass (60 & over) is reduced $137.00 from $161.00 cash fare.
"Sault Transit’s fare structure has a wide variety of fare types; however, the savings from using passes instead of paying per ride are inconsistent across fare types," says a report prepared for Mayor Matthew Shoemaker and city councillors.
"For example, users of the 31-day adult pass pay less than half of what they would pay if paying cash fare for each trip. On the contrary, users of the multi-20 ride pass are paying only 27 per cent less than if they used cash fare for each trip.
"It is recommended that fare and pass prices be reviewed to address fairness concerns with current discounts offered on existing media.
"Sault Ste. Marie's discounts for multi-ride and period-based fare media, particularly when combined with concessions for youth, seniors, and students, range from aggressive to extremely aggressive.
"As a result of these discounts, SSM Transit collected an average of $1.24 per passenger trip on its regular routes and $1.09 per passenger trip on parabus, 35 per cent and 31 per cent respectively, of the $3.50 base fare.
"Riders using the 20-ride pass (the only multi-ride fare instrument offered for non-disabled passengers) receive about a 27 per cent discount," the report says.
Monday's city council meeting will be livestreamed on SooToday starting at 5 p.m.