The B.C. government quietly cut funding for public transit in Tuesday's budget, forcing B.C. Transit to dip into reserve funds.

VICTORIA — The B.C. government quietly cut funding for public transit in Tuesday’s budget, forcing B.C. Transit to dip into reserve funds to hold service levels.

Provincial funding for public transit operations fell almost two per cent, to $119 million in the budget, according to appropriations for the Ministry of Transportation.

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Finance Minister Carole James said B.C. Transit is sitting on an operating reserve, and the province would like the Crown agency to use that money first to fund its day-to-day needs.

“Rather than have them build up a big surplus, we want to use those dollars for transit we want to make sure they’re using the resources for transit,” said James. “So the budget drops for the year that they use their surplus up, and then they’ll get the money back.”

B.C. Transit is responsible for transit bus service in B.C., except in Metro Vancouver. The NDP government has said a priority area for spending is public transit.

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However, Tuesday’s budget also froze or cut funding at 13 of 20 government ministries and James admitted discretionary cuts of up to $300 million annually are key to keeping the budget balanced during tight economic times for the province.

James said financial constraints were not the primary factor in the B.C. Transit financial change, and insisted the organization has more than enough in its surplus to cover operational costs in the coming year.

“It’s very similar to what we expect school districts to do, contribute to building schools rather than simply building a surplus,” she said. “You want to make sure they obviously are managing their budgets, but you also want to make sure that the dollars are utilized for programs and services.”

B.C. Transit’s CEO, Erinn Pinkerton, refused to take questions Tuesday as did Transportation Minister Claire Trevena. Both referred questions to James.

While Tuesday’s budget pared public transit operating costs, it did continue to funding of capital purchases for new buses and electric vehicles.

Capital spending, using government borrowing and debt, is set to rise to $184 million in 2020-21 compared to $87 million in 2019-20. B.C. Transit is to buy 10 battery electric buses to reduce carbon emissions. The budget also mentioned a push by B.C. Transit to develop “advanced fare technology” that will enable mobile fare payments and real-time tracking technology for riders to see the locations of buses on their routes.