Voucher program good first step on hospital parking: SUN

The head of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) said a new taxi voucher program is a step in the right direction when it comes to relieving the parking issues at the General Hospital in Regina.

The new system would give employees at the hospital taxi vouchers to get back to their vehicles in the park-and-ride lot if they have to stay late, past when the shuttle ends.

SUN president Tracy Zambory likes the idea but couldn’t say whether the vouchers will be enough.

“Only time will tell whether the voucher system goes far enough or not,” she said. “I think it’s too soon for us to really make a comment on that just yet.”

Zambory is happy something is being done. She said it shows that there’s communication between the Saskatchewan Health Authority and the employees — something that was a struggle on the parking issue for several years.

Dale Orban, manager of parking services, safety, and special projects at the health authority in Regina, said the voucher idea came directly out of open houses on parking issues that were held a few months ago.

The park-and-ride shuttle runs Monday to Friday between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. Orban said he doesn’t expect a large uptake with the vouchers — about 20 per cent — but it’s hard to tell until the program is in place.

Orban explained the hospital is struggling with the same thing the city is, in terms of getting more people to use mass transit.

“Rather than parking on site and trying to go out and move your vehicle every two hours, which is very inconvenient, and the risk of getting a city ticket, we’re giving them this option,” Orban said. “So we’re changing a bit of the culture in this city … We believe the service is good enough that people, once they try it, will be able to see the benefits.”

This program is expected to be in place in the next week. Orban said other parking programs are in the works, but those won’t be released until all the ducks are in a row.