Will better transit funding attract riders? [3 of 4]

In the United States, re-investment in public transit has translated into higher ridership levels today than anytime in the past 40 years! In Europe, 15 to 30% of operating needs and 30 to 100% of capital needs are funded by higher levels of government; public transit continues to be highly developed and heavily patronized.

In Edmonton, the de-investment scenario described previously is being repeated. The failure to invest in transit service has led to reduced transit use. The number of transit operating hours funded annually by the City has remained relatively constant for more than twelve years. At the same time, the population and the size of the city have grown. Consequently, the number of transit service hours and service km per person have declined, and so has transit use per person.

In terms of Edmonton's capital investments in transit, these have been inconsistent and are poor when averaged over time. Only about 14% of the average annual investment in transportation in the City of Edmonton has gone into transit over the past ten years. However, where capital investments in transit have been made, they can be shown to have contributed to increases in transit ridership within about a two year time frame.