2010 Election: Bello on transit fares

Over the course of the 2010 Mayoral Election campaign, Public Transit in Ottawa will be sitting down with as many mayoral candidates as are available, discussing their platforms and thoughts on transit in this city, and what they hope to achieve during their mandate, if elected mayor.

César Bello thinks transit fares are too expensive. Simple as that. However the city can lower them, he thinks council has to find a way. In our face-to-face discussion, Bello suggested that maybe the city should be investing more money into the service, in the form of tax dollars.

In my opinion, $91 or $93 for a bus pass is not affordable.

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There is a social responsibility to make this affordable to the residents. We have to put more, to find a way to put more money into this service. The point is to lower the fares for users.

(It's worth noting that on his website, Bello says the city is already paying too much for transit: "paying a split of 50% is way to [sic] high. If Grey hound [sic] can run for profit with out subsidies then why not the city.")

Bello suggested that OC Transpo costs more money that it needs to because of, in his words, inefficient management; "This is a matter of administration, it’s not a matter of money." He suggested that the city would be able to offer a better service with better administration.