City looking for help for Metrobus due to rising diesel costs

The City of St. John's is warning of a major impact on the budget at Metrobus due to rising diesel costs.

The city says that diesel is currently fully $1.00 a litre above the 2022 budget price. Based on this week’s price, Metrobus expects an overage this year of approximately $1.4 million.

At this time, the city is not considering a fare increase or any significant service cuts at this time.

Ridership levels have returned to pre-pandemic levels and there was a recent announcement extending the income-assistance bus pass program.

The City is asking the Provincial Government to apply for federal relief.

On February 17, the Deputy Prime Minister and federal Minister of Finance announced up to $750 million in additional emergency federal support to address ongoing COVID-induced transit operating revenue shortfalls for 2022.