The City of Lloydminster will be supporting Border City Connects to the tune of $50,000.
The funding agreement was struck at the Feb. 23 regular council meeting.
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Administration explained a fare for a one-way trip is $8, with seniors 65 and older able to utilize the service for $6.50 with the City’s senior taxi program vouchers.
Border City Connects had a busy year of trips in 2025.
“In 2025, they did 24,347 trips, not including caravan trips,” said Patrick Lancaster, manager social programs and services, City of Lloydminster, noting the agreement outlines specific reporting requirements.
“Particularly to bring us in alignment with what we need to provide through that Saskatchewan Transportation for People with Disabilities grant,” he said. “There’s certain requirements to access those funds and transfer them over to Border City Connects.”
The agreement will also include in-kind support from the city for advertising and policy development and will return to council later this year to discuss the possibility of a multi-year deal.
Mayor Gerald Aalbers talked about the city’s contribution to Border City Connects’ work.
“I think that it outlines several different things; 25,000 trips, $50,000, the math is pretty simple. It equates to a $2 subsidy from the city to support what Border City Connects does,” he said.
He also talked about the challenges Border City Connects is facing.
“Border City Connects is facing the challenge that many non-profit organizations are facing. Continuously rising costs, operational costs, insurance, things like that,” said Aalbers.
Coun. Michael Diachuk noted how important this service is to the community.
“The service is immense and unique. It touches a lot of people,” he said. “We’ve had requests for money from a lot of different organizations and I think this one in particular provides an essential service.”
He also asked what would happen if they were to not fund Border City Connects.
“It is costly to operate these vehicles. They’ve managed to stretch a lot of distance out of a lot of dollars over a long time,” said Lancaster. “If the funding was not available, we’d see a reduction in those services.”
Council voted in favour of a one-year, $50,000 agreement.
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