Saskatoon Transit posts deficit as fare revenues stuck at $12M for 4th straight year

The city-owned bus service posted a deficit despite increased ridership in 2018. Increasing fuel prices were to blame, according to ridership and revenues figures released this week.

Ridership was up by 8% in 2018 but the price of fuel contributed to $1.3M deficit

Guy Quenneville · CBC News · Posted: Jun 07, 2019 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: June 7, 2019

The city-owned bus service posted a deficit despite increased ridership in 2018. Increasing fuel prices were to blame. (Chanss Lagaden/CBC)

The number of people riding on Saskatoon Transit buses may have increased last year, but the amount of money raised from fares remains stagnant.

The latest ridership and revenues figures for the city-owned bus service were publicly released Wednesday.

They show that people took about 9.4 million bus trips in 2018 — up eight per cent over the previous year.

But on the money side, $12.6 million was raised from fares — close to the same amount as in the previous three years.

Revenue from fares has been stuck in the $12-million range for the last four years. (Saskatoon Transit)

Overall, the bus serviced posted a $1.3-million deficit, due to increased fuel prices and over-projected revenue amounts.

Coming down the line

The city is planning to launch three bus rapid transit routes between now and 2025.

Administration recommends bus rapid transit for Broadway despite initial opposition

On top of that, regular bus service on other routes will be tweaked so that the time between the arrival of one bus at a stop and the next bus's arrival at the same stop is, ideally, 20 minutes — 35 minutes tops, according to Saskatoon Transit.

That's compared to a 10-minute "headway" along BRT routes.