The City of Edmonton is driving wildly in the wrong direction with respect to transit fares. The plan is for the $3.50 cash fare to increase to $3.75 in May, and then to $4 in 2022.
The Executive Committee of Edmonton City Council will vote on increasing cash fares on April 12. Adult monthly bus passes are now at an alarming $100 (at the start of 2016, they were $89), while youth passes will be $73 in September. Imagine the monthly cost for a young family who relies on our public transit system.
Bourgeois politicians and media will no doubt point to the planned and ongoing expansion of Edmonton’s LRT system as justification for the fare increases. Construction of the southeast section of the Valley Line started in spring 2016, and construction on the Metro Line Northwest began in summer 2020. Construction on Valley Line west is supposed to commence this year, and Capital Line south will progress “when funding becomes available.”
ETS riders would shrug off that justification with a frustrated sigh. A revamped bus network that is supposed to launch on April 25 has some riders outraged. New bus routes offer less coverage than the old, many riders will face longer walks to the bus stops (they need 15 or 20 minutes more than before). LRT expansion is welcome, but it should not come at the cost of drastically altering bus routes and making the entire system less reliable and attractive for riders.
Obviously, the Edmonton Transit Service Advisory Board and Edmonton City Council are looking to shift the burden to transit riders, who are majority working class and poor – both in terms of increased fares and decreased service quality.
The proposed increases will deeply affect front line workers and other low- or fixed-income riders. Many are workers who rely entirely on ETS for their mobility; they staff our healthcare system, our grocery stores, and other essential services. Increases will have an even greater negative impact on vulnerable populations, Indigenous people, migrant workers, the disabled, and the elderly.
A just transition to a green economy needs to be our top priority to mitigate effects of climate change and ensure humanity’s survival. Car use is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Increasing transit fares will only decrease transit ridership and result in more congestion and more emissions. We need massive investment in quality public transit, with the goal of making it efficient and accessible to everyone. We need to build amazing transit networks as part of a Green New Deal, paid for by taxing rich capitalists. Placing this burden on the working class and the vulnerable is unjust – the capitalist class is already appropriating all the wealth that workers create!
We call for Edmontonians to support the Freeze Fares Now! campaign by Free Transit Edmonton. Sign the petition now, before April 12, demanding that Edmonton City Council freeze public transit fares.
Socialist Alternative calls for:
- Freeze transit fares now! Tax the rich to rapidly build and improve mass transit.
- Invest in public transport to provide comprehensive, low fare (or fare-free!), high-speed, and accessible mass transit. High quality freight and rapid inter-city rail.
- Create living-wage union jobs for all the unemployed and underemployed through a massive public works program to develop mass transit, renewable energy and energy savings, healthcare, education, and affordable housing.
