The Town of Banff won’t give the Bow Valley Regional Transit Services Commission any money until some concerns are addressed, particularly around operating and capital budgets.
At a council meeting Monday (Oct. 15), Town administration raised concerns there was insufficient background in BVRTSC’s new 2014-16 business plan, operating budget and capital plan to support funding requisitions.
Council agreed there would be no requisition until their concerns were responded to. The matter was to be discussed at the commission’s annual general meeting yesterday (Wednesday, Oct. 16).
“The business plan is a huge step forward in terms of clarity, but we’d like to see additional clarity on the financial side,” said Adrian Field, who provides Town of Banff administrative support to the commission.
Banff wants to see BVRTSC go after more advertising revenue for the local Banff service, as opposed to the projected drop in the operating budget from $56,000 in 2013 to $35,000 in 2014.
The Town also wants the commission to bring forward an aggressive marketing plan sooner than planned, and to see two per cent annual growth in combined farebox and bus pass revenue based on projected actuals.
In addition to the operating budget, officials say the capital budget documents, including a lack of information on grants, fails to provide enough background to support funding requisitions.
Councillor Leslie Taylor, who is chair of BVRTSC, said previous versions of the transit business plan were chunky and wordy.
She said this new version is a streamlined, more readable version, prepared with detailed input by commission members and administration staff from all partners, all of whom have been working on drafts of this document for several months.
“It is of paramount importance that all partners of the commission be entirely comfortable with the plan,” said Taylor. “I am sure the commission will be working diligently with this new input.”
The BVRTSC is a government agency, made up of the municipalities of Banff and Canmore and Improvement District 9, and is authorized to provide public passenger transportation services in the Bow Valley.
Formed in 2011, BVRTSC has assumed responsibility for Banff’s popular local Roam transit service and began the regional Roam service between Canmore and Banff last fall.
Plans for the next three years in the 2014-16 business plan include:
• Investigate a trailer service in which to carry bikes for the Banff-Canmore route;
• Conduct a route and service review of the current Banff local bus service, as well as for the current Banff-Canmore regional service;
• Develop a service plan for Parks transit service to Moraine Lake and Upper Lake Louise;
• Conduct a feasibility study for a Banff-Lake Louise regional service;
• Conduct a feasibility study for Canmore local service;
• Do a feasibility study for the Parks service from the Banff townsite to Lake Minnewanka;
• Continue discussions with private transportation companies and ski area operators regarding an integrated transit service to Banff-Lake Louise ski areas. Suggested steps may be to develop a working group to discuss logistics, as well as look at a jointly funded feasibility study of what the service may look like, how it could be structured and infrastructure needs.
• Examine the need for transit services to serve other regional camping and hiking attractions around the region (beyond the three-year business plan);
• Examine the need for a regional bus service to Calgary;
• Develop a concept plan and budget for a downtown transit exchange and develop a plan and budget for expansion of downtown Canmore local and regional bus stops.
