Austerity Won’t Save OC Transpo, MULVIHILL
“I remain optimistic that we will get the help we need,” Mayor Mark Sutcliffe says. “But if we don’t, we’ll have no choice but to look at increasing the transit levy, increasing fares, and reducing service.”
However, if the federal government pays up in his “tax fairness” campaign, Sutcliffe thinks a 2.9-per-cent tax hike is sufficient.
What is Sutcliffe thinking? He has cut transit service for those who need it most and now believes the only way forward is to again raise fares and cut more service. Has he not yet realized that this heavy-handed approach hasn’t worked in the past and so what makes him think it will work this time?
Under consideration is a whopping 75-per-cent increase to transit fares raising a single fare ticket to $6.74 from the current $3.80 and a transit pass would set riders back $225 per month, up from $128.75.
Residents have yet to hear the mayor mention postponing or even cancelling Lansdowne 2.0 and certainly has there been no mention of taking that Tewin development off the table. In short, those two projects combined would cost the city about $1 billion so please tell us again about the dire financial straits this city is in.
Sutcliffe is playing with fire. Said fire being those transit riders and taxpayers that you show so little respect.
Donna Mulvihill is a community activist and former hospital coordinator.
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Good post. Normally when there is a financial crisis, there’s some kind of hiring freeze or even reductions. But oh no, there’s a massive increase in adding staff for each new program. The new garbage educators come with the new garbage program, obviously different from the other garbage educators we already have. The city brought in 15 new fare collectors but the cost of three of them is the same as running the trains more frequently. It’s what bureaucrats do, the punish the public with cuts to service to try to get them to agree to higher taxes instead of dialing back the spending
Donna:
Historically in the trolley-pulled-by-horses days, transit was created in cities because business needed labour downtown.
Transit is for business. It’s for people who can’t afford to live downtown (or don’t want to) but need to work downtown. You know, store clerks at the Rideau Centre.
Sutcliffe is a small businessman. He should know the value of transit to business and to the city.
It is an important service, not like the money sinkhole at Lansdowne.
Good transit is good for business. It brings labour downtown or elsewhere. Businesses need that.
Furthermore, if you want to renew Centretown or the ByWard Market, you can’t do that withous transit … good transit.
cheers
kgray
“Sutcliffe thinks a 2.9-per-cent tax hike is sufficient” ………….to keep him in office. What other basis could there be for this number plucked from a hat?
C from Kanata,
At the very end of the Finance and Corporate Services Committee’s discussion of the budget directions motion, the mayor asked the Interim Chief Financial Officer, Cyril Rogers, if the City had implemented a hiring freeze. Obviously, he knew the answer to that question but was trying to get it on the record and out in public. The answer was yes so there, theoretically, won’t be any more new staff at the City. Of course, any hiring freeze I’ve ever seen has exceptions and I’m sure this one is no different.
@David I tend to agree with you – but let’s remember that this mayor was elected with the votes of the suburbs on his twin promises of continued low tax increases and “no war on cars”. Has anyone done a bit of research on how many disgruntled Ottawa residents voted for the same Mayor and Council that they now criticize every day? That’s the elephant in the room which never gets mentioned.
I’m wondering if the mayor is dreaming or what. Does he now realize that he maybe just lose riders? From what I’m hearing from other cities Ottawa is the most expensive place to take a bus etc. I was actually thinking I may start taking a bus but after this the mayor has not idea what to do, I’m afraid I may not be able to afford to take transportation. He wants to raise the price and one thing not mentioned is what plans does he have for seniors? Does that mean seniors will have to pay more also? If so, it’s ridiculous. Does he not know that in Montreal seniors do not have to pay to ride? I found out recently seniors may ride buses 24/7 and not pay a cent, also in Montreal there is no time schedule when one can ride a bus. I’ve been told in Ottawa, there are certain times we can ride a bus for free. I guess this city would not be able to afford seniors to ride a bus 24/7 because it may cost a big loss for the city. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s time to say bye bye to the mayor and all his “little people” under him.