RDOS rejects BC Transit plan to make up losses

Gas, grass or a BC Transit pass, nobody rides for free — at least not for long.

After providing free transit during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in B.C. and reducing ridership numbers to comply with social distancing requirements BC Transit is looking to local transit system reserves to make up for lost revenue.

“The number of people that are able to use transit at one time has been reduced in order to meet those social distancing requirements which leaves most services offered by BC Transit at a deficit,” said Bill Newell, CAO of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) at the board’s Aug. 6 meeting.

B.C.’s provincial transit organization is proposing using reserves from local services to make up the deficit, but the RDOS voted to reject the plan of action Thursday.

“We’re opposed to that. We think that there are provincial funds coming that transit is eligible for,” Newell said.

The regional district’s operating reserves should be saved for future costs, Newell said, and the RDOS board agreed in a unanimous vote to object to BC Transit’s request. In total, the RDOS transit reserves amount to $23,404, while the combined expected deficit for the four transit systems at the end of the year is $19,311.    

“There may be additional expenditures that require additional reserves in the future. So we prefer not to use the operating reserves to cover this pandemic response so we are recommending we object to that,” Newell said.

Apollo Figueiredo, regional district planner, stated in a staff report to the board that taxpayers may have to make up the deficit next year, or increase bus fares.

“If the deficit is not addressed by the operating reserves or another solution presented by BC Transit at a future date, then the amount of taxes requisitioned will increase next year in order to mitigate this loss,” the staff report states. “Another potential RDOS-led solution to address the loss would be to potentially increase the cost of a bus fare, which may recoup some losses but also dissuade transit users from taking public transit.”