STO Adopts Its 2015 Budget
Published : 10-30-2014
The 2015 budget and fare schedule to take effect in January 2015 were adopted by the Board of Directors of the Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO) at a public meeting this evening that was open to citizens.
“Preparing the budget was a challenge for the Board,” stated STO Chairman Gilles Carpentier, highlighting the issues that influenced the budget decisions. They included the difficult economic context, declining ridership over the past two years and the introduction of the Rapibus system, which required improvements. “The STO went through a streamlining exercise to reduce the pressure on the 2015 budget while continuing to maintain services,” he added. These aspects, combined with an increase in the municipal contribution capped at $3 million, dictated the adoption of a budget of $133.6 million, representing a 2.2% rise.
To help support the services offered within its territory, the City of Gatineau is injecting $54.3 million into the STO's budget. The municipal share represents 41% of the STO's budget. “The STO followed the directives of the municipal council to cap the increase in the share at $3 million, and despite a tight budgetary context, the City considers public transit to be important for its citizens and for the city's development. Moreover, it is one of the orientations in the municipal council's 2014-2017 program, Gatineau's land use plan and the sustainable transportation plan,” stated the STO's Chairman.
Aware that it must continue to rebuild the confidence of riders and attract new patrons, the STO chose to be more cautious in the budget forecast for its ridership in 2015 by setting it at 0%. “We remain optimistic that we will reverse the trend,” commented the STO's Chairman, recalling the investments and actions taken to optimize public transit service. “We believe that these actions will continue to bear fruit, as supported by the encouraging results in September when we recorded an increase of 1.6%,” he stated.
Paratransit, on the other hand, has seen steady growth for several years. The STO projects a 4% increase in 2015 with 10,000 additional trips. The STO provides close to 280,000 trips annually. The 2015 budget for paratransit is $7.1 million, or an increase of 2.9% over 2014.
Recalling the three major adjustment phases since the Rapibus service started, which represented an investment of $1.4 million in 2014, the STO's Chairmen repeated his commitment to continue to optimize the service throughout the system by earmarking an envelope of $700,000 for this purpose in 2015. “The in-depth analysis of the Rapibus system will determine which actions to take next, because we are well aware of the work that remains to be done. However, at this stage, it is necessary to take a step back to see how the system stabilizes,” explained Gilles Carpentier. “In the meanwhile, we will continue to make occasional improvements.”
As for the contribution from riders, the Board of Directors authorized an average fare increase of 1.9%, reflecting the consumer price index. The STO's 2015-2016-2017 three-year capital projects plan was also approved at the Board meeting. For instance, in 2015, as well as 2016 and 2017, the STO will acquire 16 hybrid buses consisting of nine articulated buses and seven conventional 40-foot buses.
The fare schedule for 2015 and a summary of the budget can be viewed at sto.ca.
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Grille tarifaire 2015
Programme triennal d'immobilisations 2015-2016-2017
