Transit systems to combine

The City of Yorkton is moving ahead to amalgamate its public transit bus system with those of Saskatchewan Abilities and SIGN.

Gord Shaw, Director of Planning & Engineering with the City told the regular meeting of City Council Monday that the benefits of the amalgamation included:

Customer and Community Focus - a committee of passengers, drivers and business leaders will meet quarterly to review and suggest further efficiency and effectiveness strategies. This will include key performance measurers of service delivery.

Integration - Public Transit, Access Transit and Client Transit will be under one consistent management structure and marketing plan.

Staff Recruitment and Retention - three groups will be merged into one integrated team. Bus drivers will have the opportunity to drive and serve a variety of passengers.

At the same time the City will face added costs with the amalgamation.

The amalgamated plan includes moving the bus driver's salaries closer to the provincial average. Both Abilities and City bus drivers are below average (currently $15.48/hr), explained Shaw, adding the new model includes a wage increase of 16 per cent.

"It will bring us up to the middle of the Saskatchewan range," he said.

Councillor Richard Okrainec said the 16 per cent seemed like a major increase.

"It is a large increase," agreed Shaw, but he added they had been "below the average salary grid."

The operating budget will increase $30,800 plus an allocation of $5,000 to reserves for the capital.

Saskatchewan Abilities would be responsible for the operation of this service while the city would be responsible for the capital which includes buses and bus shelters.

"The effect of this agreement is the City will no longer be involved in the day-to-day operations of the transit system. The City will provide the funding and Saskatchewan Abilities Council will be responsible for the day-to-day operations. The city will receive a report in January of each year on the transit service in the previous year," stated the report to Council.

Administration believes the agreement gives the city security that the transit operations will be conducted in a manner that will benefit the transit rider while still keeping an eye towards the cost of this service, said Shaw.

Councillor Ross Fisher wanted to know if there would be a cost-benefit analysis.

Shaw said the annual reports will detail those, as well as further fine- tune services after a year of operating the system as it is today.