The familiar orange and white Belleville Transit buses that wind through our city streets will soon come with a steeper price tag for riders. Starting January 1st, transit users will face a 50-cent increase on all fares – a jump that local officials attribute directly to Ottawa’s recent policy decisions.
“We didn’t want to do this,” explained Paul Buck, Belleville’s Transit Services Manager, during Tuesday’s council meeting. “But the federal tariff changes have significantly increased our operational costs, particularly for parts and vehicle maintenance.”
The fare hike represents the first increase since 2019, bringing the adult cash fare to $3.00, with similar proportional increases across monthly passes and discount categories. For the average daily commuter, this means roughly $260 in additional annual costs.
Behind these local changes sits a more complex national story. The federal government’s retaliatory tariffs against American manufacturing goods, implemented in August, have created a ripple effect through municipal transportation systems across Ontario. Transit systems in Kingston and Peterborough have already approved similar increases for the coming year.
“We’re caught between federal policy decisions and the needs of our residents,” said Councillor Tyler Allsopp during heated budget deliberations. “Many of our most vulnerable citizens rely on these services daily.”
The tariffs, initially designed to protect Canadian industries following American trade restrictions, have ironically hit hardest on replacement parts for the Nova Bus and New Flyer vehicles that make up Belleville’s aging fleet. According to city documents, maintenance costs have risen 22% since the tariffs took effect.
At the Quinte Access Transit depot on Wallbridge-Loyalist Road, mechanics are feeling the squeeze. “We’re paying nearly double for some common components,” said lead mechanic Sam Johnston. “Everything from brake assemblies to electrical components has jumped in price. These aren’t luxury items – they’re safety essentials.”
For Belleville resident Maria Kowalski, who depends on transit to get to her job at Quinte Mall, the increase represents another squeeze on an already tight budget. “Fifty cents doesn’t sound like much until you multiply it by twice a day, five days a week,” she told me while waiting at the Bell Boulevard stop. “That’s groceries or part of my hydro bill.”
The city has attempted to buffer the impact by expanding service on high-demand routes and introducing a new low-income monthly pass program. The initiative, modeled after similar programs in Ottawa and Toronto, will provide a 30% discount for residents who meet income thresholds set by Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut-off measures.
“We recognize the burden this places on many residents,” noted Mayor Mitch Panciuk. “That’s why we’ve directed staff to implement these mitigation measures alongside the necessary increase.”
According to the latest ridership data from the Ontario Public Transit Association, Belleville Transit serves approximately 1.2 million passenger trips annually, with nearly 40% of riders using the system to commute to work or school. The service has seen steady growth since the pandemic recovery period began in mid-2022.
Provincial funding has remained flat despite these pressures. The Ontario government’s gas tax program, which provides municipalities with transit funding based on ridership and population, allocated $1.2 million to Belleville last year – unchanged from pre-pandemic levels despite significantly higher operational costs.
“Municipalities are being squeezed from multiple directions,” explained Dr. Shauna Brail, urban policy expert at the University of Toronto. “Federal tariffs increase costs, provincial funding hasn’t kept pace with inflation, and residents expect affordable, reliable service.”
The fare increases are projected to generate approximately $340,000 in additional annual revenue for Belleville Transit, covering roughly 60% of the expected maintenance cost increases. The remaining shortfall will need to be addressed through the city’s general operating budget.
At the East End Community Centre, where many seniors gather for weekly activities, the conversation frequently turns to transportation challenges. “I understand they need to keep the buses running,” said 72-year-old Patricia Donovan, who uses transit three times weekly. “But when your income is fixed, every increase hurts.”
City council has requested quarterly reports on how the fare increase affects ridership patterns. Similar increases in neighboring Cobourg led to a temporary 8% ridership decline before numbers stabilized, according to regional transit data.
For now, Belleville Transit is encouraging riders to purchase monthly passes before December 31st to lock in current rates for January. The city has also approved extended weekend service hours as a partial offset to the fare increase – a small consolation that acknowledges the essential role public transit plays in community mobility.
As one regular rider put it while boarding at the terminal downtown: “The buses keep us connected. I just wish we weren’t paying for policies made hundreds of kilometers away.”
