REGINA — Riding Regina transit will soon cost more.
On Wednesday, in a 6-5 vote with Mayor Chad Bachynski, Couns. Dan Rashovich (Ward 1), George Tsiklis (Ward 2), Mark Burton (Ward 4), Jason Mancinelli (Ward 9), and Clark Bezo (Ward 10) in favour, council passed the third reading of the transit fare amendment bylaw to officially enact a 10 per cent increase to all transit fares.
During 2026 budget deliberations, council trimmed the eventually passed 10.9 per cent mill rate uptick by increasing fares to find $585,000 in savings.
Amendments to transit fares required council to pass a revised bylaw, first introduced in late February, but the decision was postponed by Ward 8 Coun. Shanon Zachidniak.
On March 11, council failed to reach unanimous consent on third-reading for the transit fare amended bylaw, meaning the bylaw required majority support to pass at Wednesday’s meeting.
If the bylaw had been defeated, the general reserve fund would have been used to cover the roughly $600,000 in additional revenue needed to offset the proposed increase to transit fares.
The reserve is currently at $16.5 million as of 2025, nearly $20 million shy of its minimum threshold of $35 million.
New fare cost
With the amended by-law passing, here is an overview of the increases for transit:
- Single cash ride (adult, youth, senior): $3:50;
- Single ride (electronic payment) $3.20;
- Daily cap (electronic payment): $9.60;
- Monthly cap (electronic payment): $97;
- 10 rides: $32 (adult and senior), $27 (youth);
- 20 rides: $61 (adult and senior), $51 (youth);
- 31-day bus pass: $97 (adult), $66 (youth), $33 (senior);
- 31-day post-secondary bus pass: $66;
- Four-month post-secondary bus pass: $286;
- Discount bus pass: $28;
- Semi-annual bus pass: $488 (adult), $330 (youth), $175 (senior);
- Annual pass: $297 (only for seniors);
- Affordable bus pass: $78 (adult and senior), $53 (youth);
- Employer bus pass – annual: $970 (adult), $660 (youth).
Pleas from transit advocates
Before Wednesday’s council meeting, dozens of transit advocates gathered inside city hall for one last call to stop the transit hikes.
Transit advocate Manda Mthembu said the hikes could create several barriers for people.
“[This hike would] mean you can’t get to the appointment you needed to go to. That you can’t go to your job and that can result, obviously, in you losing your job or having your employment threatened. You can’t go to school. We’ve seen massive impacts of attendance in classes be very much related to people’s access to reliable transit.”
Stats gathered from the Regina Public School indicated 50 per cent of high school students at seven collegiates in the school division depend on public transit.
Mthembu also said fewer people using the bus will have consequences for the city.
“We are trying to fund a service that’s used by many people so that we can have vital services, not just the transit system, but things like our downtown areas, things that are beyond just walkability that you need transit to get to.
He added that if transit becomes more expensive or less accessible, it could discourage people from using the bus and turn away potential riders.
Fellow transit advocate Abhay Singh Sachal said the city’s making transit more affordable can provide many benefits.
“Having fewer cars on the road and more people taking the bus, we have less of a budget item for actual maintenance on the roads. We know that in Regina, a large part of our city’s expenses goes to repairing the roads that freeze and thaw throughout the year.”
“If we have a very well-built public transit system in the city of Regina, it means that we have fewer cars on the road, less air pollution, and we’re also doing better for our sustainability goals,” he added.
The transit fare increases will come into effect in about a month.
