The Pulse: April 14, 2021

Beginning next month, single cash fare trips on transit could get more expensive.

On April 13, city council's executive committee endorsed the move to increase the cash fare to use Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) to $3.75 from $3.50. The committee was also in favour of introducing a discounted rate of $3 for smart fare users once the system is implemented later this year, which will allow riders to pay electronically using a card.

City of Edmonton data shows ridership in 2020 was down 44.3% compared to 2019. A report from administration said the city will need to make up $870,000 in budgeted revenues for 2022 if the fare increase is rejected.

"We're really in a tight spot. This year, there is no way taxes can be raised to raise that money," said Coun. Aaron Paquette. "We have to raise fares a modest amount to help cover some of this cost."

The increase to $3.75 was originally scheduled to come into effect in February, but was postponed until May. It is scheduled to go up again to $4 by the end of this year. Council first approved the increases in 2019, and decided to follow through on the decision because of declining revenues over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The endorsement was not made without opposition. Danika McConnell, an organizer with Free Transit Edmonton, said the increase will lead to lower ridership, ultimately resulting in more losses for the city.

• Dr. Deena Hinshaw warned on April 13 that if COVID-19 cases continue to rise rapidly in Alberta, further restrictions may be in order. There are currently 402 people in hospital in the province with 88 of those patients in intensive care.
• Edmonton's public schools have seen a significant increase in COVID-19, superintendent Darrel Robertson told school board trustees on Tuesday, noting that it might be best to move Grades 7 to 12 back to online learning to deal with staff shortages.
• CBC reports that experts are warning that "resistance to Alberta's COVID-19 health restrictions is growing." In addition to recent protests, GraceLife Church held a secret in-person service last weekend at an undisclosed location after access to its building was revoked.
• The city has released its plans for the 50th Street train crossing in east Edmonton, including an overpass above the train tracks. “Ultimately through our value engineering, looking at risk, looking at cost and making sure that we’re getting best value for money, we have settled on an overpass,” Natalie Lazurko from the city said.
• An Edmonton Police Commission report commissioned last summer and released this week indicated that a total of $7.5 billion is spent on social supports and community services every year, leading police chief Dale McFee to call for a restructuring of programs so that funding is better co-ordinated.
• The City of Edmonton is asking for public feedback on the planned footbridge from northeast Edmonton to Strathcona County. An online survey will open on April 14.

Researchers at the University of Alberta are one step closer to finding a possible cure for Type 1 diabetes. The Alberta Diabetes Institute (ADI) is collaborating with the university’s department of computing science to develop an artificial intelligence-based system that can replace human technicians to target faster and safer sources of islet cells for people with Type 1 diabetes.

The new research focuses on using the patient's own cells to create insulin-producing cells, which can be transplanted back into the patient.

Dr. James Shapiro, a professor of surgery in the faculty of medicine and dentistry who is the creator of the Edmonton Protocol procedure, is leading the study and said he is confident that this approach will prove to be an effective way to treat diabetes.

"When you transplant those cells, taken from a patient's blood who has diabetes, into a mouse, you can reliably reverse diabetes in the mouse,” he explained.

The Edmonton Metropolitan Transit Services Commission has announced its first CEO: Paul Jankowski.

Jankowski, who was born and raised in Edmonton, will be leaving his role as commissioner in the Regional Municipality of York's transportation services department to lead EMTSC's effort to create an integrated, regional transit system.

"The first orders of business for me personally are going to be to start establishing some of the key relationships that are going to be instrumental to advancing this and getting this new enterprise off the ground and running," Jankowski said in an interview with Taproot Edmonton.

One of those relationships will be with labour. Union leaders have raised concerns about the regional transit commission, fearing more private sector involvement that could lead to job cuts.

Jankowski said an important step going forward will be to sit down with current operators and other stakeholders.

"There are a number of people that have done an awful lot of good work over the years and delivering transit services to many of the communities ... and we're going to come up with solutions that address all of the concerns but that do meet the overall objective of a fully integrated suite of transit services."

This week's phrase is "kisâkihitin" which means "I love you" in Cree. Here's how to pronounce it.

The Cree lesson of the week is produced in collaboration with local strategic communications agency Naheyawin.

In Episode 124 of Speaking Municipally, co-hosts Troy Pavlek and Mack Male focus on the Community Safety and Well-Being Task Force and its report, Safer For All.

They dissected city council's response to the report, and expressed their disappointment at what came out of it, which was to move forward on the "quickly actionable items" within 90 days, and to put off considering the recommendation to freeze police funding until 2022.

"I think it was very clear that it was a 'kick the can down the road' kind of discussion," said Male. "It was very clear that they didn't want to make a decision about funding and that they were going to leave that to the next council."

He went on to say policing has moved to the "top of the list" for election issues, as anticipated by the report's conclusion, which says: "This fall’s municipal election offers a chance to showcase and support candidates who champion inclusion, offer diverse perspectives of lived experience, and demonstrate allyship in the fight against racism. And it is one of the best times to make our voices heard and demand better."

Pavlek and Male also raised their eyebrows at Coun. Jon Dziadyk's late-in-the-game call to stop the bus network redesign, and noted the funding reductions to traffic safety programs due to lower revenues from photo radar.