The proposed cuts to OC Transpo bus routes -- particularly on weekends and evenings -- are a bad move for customers and should be reconsidered, says one Ottawa city councillor.

Should the city budget go through in its current form when approved in late January, 47 routes across the city will be reduced or eliminated.

That's not the right approach, and the city must do some "soul-searching" to find a better way to keep the tax increase below four per cent in 2010, argues Coun. Rick Chiarelli.

"Priority one has to be, look at the pain you are inflicting with these proposed transit route cuts," he says.

"It's completely disproportionate to the $3.5 million saved by it. So we need to get past that transit issue first and fix those routes, because they are popular routes people use all the time."

Bus fare flip-flop

The city's transit committee -- of which Chiarelli is not a part -- initially recommended the 7.5 per cent fare increase in 2010 be knocked down to 3.5 per cent to ease rider pocketbooks, but the full council recommended the increase be reinstated.

Council is hoping that property tax payers will equally share the burden of transit services with bus riders, but some have expressed concern about this latest fare increase -- which will push an adult regular bus pass to around $90 monthly, up from $73 only two years before.

Ottawa's beleagured bus service has already gone through a rough year, with a lengthy transit strike last winter wiping out around $5 million in revenues and pushing down ridership by six per cent, according to city documents.

Fare increase may drive down ridership

The city estimates 101.7 million passengers will ride the bus and O-Train in 2010, generating fares of $158.7 million. By comparison, around 80 million people used the service in 2009 -- an artificially low number due to the bus strike, the city says.

"An increase in the fare of 7.5% may decrease ridership," the city budget documents note.

Relations between the union and the city are said to be sour as the two sides continue to hammer out an agreement on driver scheduling -- the issue that paralyzed contract negotiations in 2008 and led to the two-month strike.

Earlier this month, Mayor Larry O'Brien threatened to lock the drivers out if contract negotiations break down again.

Proposed bus route changes:

Route eliminations
- Kanata - Combine Routes 62, 63, 64 into two express routes
- Bells Corners - Combine Routes 69, 166 into one feeder route
- Nepean - Change Route 67 into a feeder route
- Central Nepean - Reorganize Routes 57, 86, 111, 117, 156
- South Ottawa - Change Route 43 into a feeder route
- South Ottawa - Combine Routes 8 and 88 into a single route
- Orleans - Combine Routes 37, 38, 39 into two express routes

Route reductions
- Route 16 west of Lincoln Fields - Monday - Friday evenings; all day Saturday, Sunday
- Route 18 west of Elgin - evenings 7 days/week
- Route 87 Carlingwood-Downtown - Sunday evenings
- Route 116 Lincoln Fields-Nortel - Monday - Friday peak periods
- Route 127 Blair-Place d'Orleans - All day Saturday
- Route 128 - Saturday, Sunday mornings
- Route 131 - Saturday morning; all day Sunday
- Route 137 - Saturday morning; all day Sunday
- Route 141 - All day Saturday
- Route 142 - Saturday morning
- Route 147 - Saturday, Sunday evenings
- Route 149 - Monday-Friday evenings; all day Saturday, Sunday
- Route 151 Lincoln Fields-Carlingwood - Sunday evenings
- Route 151 Tunney's-Westboro - evenings 7 days/week
- Route 152 - Sunday evenings
- Route 154 - Saturday morning
- Route 156 Carlingwood-Baseline/Clyde - Saturday, Sunday evenings
- Route 156 Carlingwood-Lincoln Fields - Monday-Saturday evenings
- Route 166 (southern part) - evenings 7 days/week
- Route 171 - Monday-Friday evenings; all day Saturday, Sunday
- Route 173 - Monday-Friday evenings; all day Saturday, Sunday
- Route 174 Greenbank-Carlingwood - eveningss 7 days/week
- Route 178 - Monday-Friday evenings
- Route 181 - Monday-Friday midday
- Route 193 - Monday-Friday peak periods
- Route 306 - Monday-Friday 08:30, 15:00, 15:30, 16:00 trips

With a report from CTV Ottawa's Kate Eggins