Leduc County votes to withdraw participation in regional transit commission

This afternoon, Leduc County council voted to discontinue its participation in the Regional Transit Services Commission (RTSC).

After studying the business case provided by Ernst & Young and talking through details like the commission's voting structure, routing costs and pace of the project, we decided as a council that we could not justify the financial and decision-making impacts that joining the RTSC would have on Leduc County and its residents.

We will continue to work with our regional partners to explore and evaluate transit opportunities that will provide the most benefit to county residents and visitors.

Mayor Tanni Doblanko

The decision comes after the release of the RTSC transition team's final report, Accelerating Transit in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which examined the overall feasibility of an integrated-service approach. The report estimated that Leduc County would be responsible for approximately 1.7 per cent of the Commission's net operating costs, in addition to a base fee.

The 11 municipalities considering the RTSC are the City of Beaumont, the Town of Devon, the City of Edmonton, the City of Fort Saskatchewan, the City of Leduc, the Town of Morinville, Parkland County, the City of Spruce Grove, the City of St. Albert, the Town of Stony Plain and Sturgeon County.

Background

In September 2017, City of Edmonton and City of St. Albert councils signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to begin the development of a Regional Transit Services Commission. Leduc County and ten other Edmonton Metropolitan Region communities joined the study in October 2018.

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