Saving money in the transit system is a continuous goal for the Community Services Department.
Chair Mark King says that’s why they looked into purchasing smaller buses for their transit fleet. King says it would seem obvious the smaller bus would be cheaper and more economical to operate. He says it would also be less intrusive in neighbourhoods.
However, he says the large vehicles are better over time. He says there is a 25 per cent savings in capital cost, but the savings over a 10 year cycle favour the larger models.
He says they purchased two 40-foot busses at just over $950,000, but will continue to look at other ways to save money within that sector. King adds the smaller busses were made by a different manufacturer from B.C.
King also says the P.H.A.R.A. part of the bus system is expensive to operate. He says those costs have been going up for quite a while and they are working on addressing that issue.
King says they could implement a hybrid bus that is a bit smaller than the existing P.H.A.R.A. busses. He says he’s hopeful they will move in that direction which could realize more savings in the transit budget.
