Bowden council is again looking at adjusting the rates the Town of Bowden charges for use of its community bus . Bowden’s Community Bus Committee forwarded two rate changes it had approved at its Oct.
Bowden council is again looking at adjusting the rates the Town of Bowden charges for use of its community bus.
Bowden’s Community Bus Committee forwarded two rate changes it had approved at its Oct. 17 meeting to council to discuss at the Oct. 28 council meeting.
Council ended up accepting the proposed changes for information and directed town staff to research the viability of changing certain fees for using the bus.
While the flat rate of $5 for trips to Olds, Innisfail and Red Deer and the rate of 60 cents a kilometre to other destinations will not change for seniors and community groups based in town, the committee proposed increasing the fee charged to Chinook’s Edge School Division for use of the bus to $1.60 per kilometre from the current rate of 60 cents per kilometre.
And the proposed rate change for groups from outside the town and non-residents would increase to $2.60 per kilometre from 60 cents per kilometre.
Coun. Sheila Church said a better definition of "non-residential groups" is needed before any rate changes are approved since some groups outside the town’s limits are still part of the community.
Mayor Robb Stuart said he felt the proposed rate for the school division is high and will likely mean the division will stop renting out the community bus since the division only charges $1.12 per kilometre for use of its buses.
But Coun. Sandy Gamble said even with a rate increase, the school division may still use the community bus for certain events since drivers for school buses are not always available.
Andy Weiss, the town’s chief administrative officer, said council may want to nail down an exact description of what the bus should be used for before making a final decision on any rate changes for specific groups.
Council approved a rate increase for the bus in March where the per-kilometre fee was increased to 60 cents from 53 cents.
The committee and council are looking at rate changes again because the bus operates in a deficit and the town needs to bring in more revenue from the use of the bus to cover its operational costs.
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