Saskatoon council seeks input on bus fare options in lead up to November budget talks

SaskatoonSaskatoon city hall is gathering opinions on bus fares so council can make some decisions for the next two-year budget, but the time frame for consultation is brief.Transit advocate expresses concern over timeline for inputCBC News · Posted: Oct 07, 2025 7:52 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours agoAn online survey is launching Wednesday as Saskatoon city council seeks input on bus fares. (City of Saskatoon)Saskatoon city hall is gathering opinions on bus fares so council can make some decisions for the next two-year budget, but the time frame for consultation is brief.Robert Clipperton, who speaks for the advocacy group Bus Riders of Saskatoon, appeared before council’s transportation committee Tuesday to express his concern about the short time period leading up to budget talks at the end of November.”This timeline for well-considered and meaningful input is woefully insufficient,” he said. “We hope the city looks deeper than the bottom line, so our fare structure is both equitable and sustainable. “And we fear that a hastily and only partially informed decision by council in November could lead to an increase in fare evasion, a drop in ridership and, in turn, a drop in revenue.”But the committee voted unanimously in favour of moving forward with the engagement plan, including an online survey that is scheduled to launch Wednesday.Coun. Randy Donauer said he wanted the public input campaign to ensure that people beyond those that use transit are consulted.”I think if you ask a bunch of transit riders, ‘Do you want your fares to go up?’ You’re going to get a very sarcastic, ‘No,'” Donauer said.A report from city administration says the engagement is intended to produce recommendations for the next two-year budget. Budget talks are scheduled for the end of November.The report notes that Saskatoon fares have been “frozen” for the last nine years and fares now only pay for about 30 per cent of the cost of operating the bus system.