THUNDER BAY — A proposal to cut two Thunder Bay Transit routes to find savings in the city budget may be off the table.
In a memo to city council that will be discussed on Monday, city manager Norm Gale withdrew recommendations administration made in June to cut the interlined 4–Neebing and 6–Mission bus routes, which would bring an estimated $293,800 in yearly savings.
The recommendation had prompted concern from Fort William First Nation leadership, with Chief Michele Solomon expressing disappointment it was made without warning or consultation.
In his memo to council, Gale suggested that was central to the reversal.
“In recognition of being good neighbours and maintaining positive relationships, administration intends to maintain at this time the interconnected 6–Mission and 4–Neebing transit routes service,” he wrote.
“Administration therefore recommends that council remove this item from both the list of budget stakeholder consultations and the current list of 2024 budget reductions options.”
The 6–Mission route provides service between the Westfort area and the First Nation, but had been identified along with the Neebing route as having the lowest ridership in the transit system.
The recommendation was one of a handful council declined to immediately approve in the face of pushback from the public and labour groups, instead calling for more consultation.
General manager of community services Kelly Robertson, who oversees transit, said in an interview administration had moved to withdraw the recommendation after a subsequent discussion with Fort William First Nation that "brought some new information to the table."
“While there are fewer people using these routes, there is concern about the alternative modes of transportation available to these passengers – the distance from services and shopping, limited sidewalks, and the expense that might be related to alternate transit options," she said.
She added the city will look to implement new models like the on-demand approach that’s been piloted on the Neebing route.
“We do have plans in the future to move to an on-demand service that we feel would probably be a more appropriate type of service for the passengers in this area, and that will offer some cost efficiencies.”
Asked about the lack of consultation with those who would be impacted by the cuts before they were brought to council for a vote, Robertson said staff are sometimes constrained in their ability to do so.
“Sometimes our process doesn’t allow us to consult with others before we present information to our council,” she said. “I would agree there’s been some learning through this, but as far as our ability to improve down the road, sometimes we have to adhere to certain protocols.”
Reached by text Friday, Solomon said the fiscal challenges facing the city are not lost on her, but expressed relief the city would not cut transit service without first discussing with the First Nation.
"I am happy to hear that they are revisiting the matter... and I have been advised that there will be no immediate cut to the Mission bus," she said. "I would reiterate the importance of dialogue between the City and FWFN towards amenable solutions."
Neebing Coun. Greg Johnsen shared Solomon's sentiments on the new recommendation.
“It’s good to hear,” he said. “There’s still a little bit of work to be done on that, but ultimately I see this as administration doing its due diligence. At council, we’ve received dozens of emails on this particular topic, and I think ultimately [we] listened to residents and hear loud and clear about their displeasure over the decision to cut these routes.”
“When you get a large amount of emails from people who are asking, how are they going to get to work now, or how are they going to get to certain areas of the city now, you quickly realize that this impacts people, and we’ve got to find another way, maybe.”
He said other options council could consider include increasing service fees, and added he is open to solutions like the on-demand transit model.
Administration’s about-face on the transit proposal comes on the heels of another reversal this week, after city staff advised it would not immediately be feasible to close the Neebing Memorial Arena, another item they included on a list of recommendations in June.
That list responded to city council’s move during the 2023 budget process to blindly order millions in spending cuts by 2024, directing city administration to find $1.5 million in service reductions, and $700,000 in staffing reductions.
That direction comes as staff warn the city could have to hike property taxes by more than five per cent in 2024 to contain inflation and rising emergency services costs, and to backstop what Gale has called a broken provincial funding formula.
Council has tentatively approved $512,900 in service cuts for next year so far.
Those include eliminating event fireworks and movie nights, downsizing the playgrounds program, ending maintenance at 13 parkettes, cutting a Current River EMS station, reducing hours at outdoor pools, and scaling back litter pick-up.
Together, eliminating the transit routes and the Neebing arena was estimated to save roughly $474,000, leaving questions over how council will achieve its targets for spending cuts, some of which were approved with only narrow support.
Gale has reported achieving $684,000 of the directed $700,000 reduction in staffing costs through a reorganization.
