Cab fare to the airport may go up
The City of Saskatoon’s Transportation Committee is discussing a possible change to cab fares to the airport in its meeting this afternoon.
Right now, the Saskatoon Airport Authority charges a Commercial Curb Fee to taxis accessing the airport, but a City Bylaw on taxi fares doesn’t include the airport’s curb fee of $2 per trip, so it can’t be added on to the charge, which means it goes to the drivers.
Administration recommends an amendment to the Vehicle for Hire bylaw be made to add the Curb Fee to the taxi fare and explains that this approach will help reduce the operating cost of providing airport-related taxi service and would then be consistent with other additional costs, such as debit card transaction fees.
From a scan of other cities, it was found that it was common practice for airport-related fees to be added to the taxi fees. If approved at the meeting, it would still need to go through City Council.
City committee contemplates a municipal budget for carbon emissions
The City of Saskatoon has many budgets for its operations, departments and projects but it is now also working toward the possibility of a carbon emissions budget.
A report to the Environment, Utilities, and Corporate Services Committee today (Tues) recommends a climate budget approach as opposed to a carbon budget.
A carbon budget is the total quantity of carbon dioxide emissions allowed over a set period of time in order to stay below a set temperature limit. Annual amounts are set, and if the amount goes over, the plan is to be under budget in subsequent years.
The other option is a climate budget, where consideration focuses on funding actions specifically that will result in significant greenhouse gas emissions. If approved by the Environment Committee, and later City Council, work could begin to implement this strategy in the 2024/25 budget planning cycle.
Submissions now open for Green Fund
One of the topics at Tuesday’s Environment, Utilities and Corporate Services Committee meeting is retrofitting the City of Saskatoon’s facilities for energy efficiency.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is accepting submissions for the Green Municipal Fund, and Administration is requesting approval to submit an application for a feasibility study.
The report to the committee states that the City has committed to a corporate reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 40 per cent by this year, compared to 2014 levels and by 80 per cent in 2050. This project in particular would be for deep retrofits, which means cutting energy use by 50 per cent or more.
The Green Municipal Fund’s Community Buildings Retrofit initiative provide up to 80 per cent of eligible costs for the study, up to $200,00 for a portfolio of buildings. During budget negotiations, the City approved $160,00 for this project, so the potential total project value is $360,000.
