Access Transit Update

The Community Service Centre (CSC) has made the decision to cut Access Transit weekend and evening services as of April 1, 2024. The City has been working with the CSC since the summer of 2023 to clarify their funding requirements and establish a contract that defines funding and service expectations. The documentation supplied by the CSC does not demonstrate a clear picture of what they require to operate.

Without a plan and transparent reporting of their budget information, the City is not in a position to grant their request for more funding. We encourage the CSC to reverse its decision to cut services and we invite them to submit a defendable financial plan that delivers a service that meets the needs of riders as soon as possible.

Questions have been raised regarding how expenditures have been reported.

“Mr. Powalinsky is no stranger to the City Budget timelines. Completing the negotiations before budget deliberations was not fulfilled. We are also concerned about the discrepancies in the CSC’s budget documentation,” said Sherry Person, City Manager for the City of Prince Albert.

Fuel Budget:
The CSC has indicated that their increased funding request is partially due to rising gas prices. This contradicts their budget submission which shows a decrease in fuel costs of $37,000.

Hours of Service:
In 2022 the City approved increased annual funding of $34,050 to implement a split shift bus, which was set to improve Access Transit capacity and overall service. Despite the increased funding, evening service hours were reduced in 2023 without the City's knowledge.

Cutting Services
The CSC is accountable to those that rely on their services. The decision to cut services is the decision of the Board of Directors and not the decision of the City of Prince Albert.

"The decision to reduce evening and weekend hours is not the City’s. The CSC is choosing to reduce hours," stated Mayor Dionne. "We don’t believe that these service cuts are necessary, and it’s concerning to me that they are choosing to go this route."

The City is committed to serving seniors and individuals with special needs. Taxpayers contributed nearly $1 million to the Access Transit operation in 2023 and the City has invested annually to replace buses, resulting in one the most modern and reliable paratransit fleets in the province.

City Funding Breakdown

The City contributes nearly $1 million in funding to support special needs transportation. This includes

External Agency Funding: $571,000
New Bus Purchase 2023: $180,000
Annual Maintenance: $122,000
Seniors Transportation: $69,500
Property Tax Exemption: $14,000

The CSC does not contribute any funds towards Access Transit operations.