Transit Funding Facts [3 of 4]

Over the ten year period from 1991 to 2000, public transit received, on average, only 14% of the annual capital investment in transportation in Edmonton, while 86% went into roadways. See Graph G.

Just to meet the requirements of the Transportation Master Plan approved by Council in April 1999, at least 30% of the total capital budget for transportation will need to be put toward public transit. See Graph H. A much greater investment than this would be required to meet the capital funding requirements for a system that could effectively compete with the private automobile and truly qualify as 'better transit' for Edmontonians.

The overall funding situation with respect to public transit is paradoxical, since transit earns many times more direct revenue for the City than roadways do, covering over 40% of its own total operating and capital costs. See Graph I and Graph J.

The full size version of a graph can
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