As Edmonton’s transit system grows the number of officers designated to keep it safe will not.

City council voted against funding for a program that saw officers’ conduct LRT security patrols.

The head of Edmonton’s Police Association, Sgt. Tony Simioni, said cutting officers while expanding transit services did not bode well.

“At times when you're going to have intoxicated people, people that are prone to violence, those are prime policing times, late at night early in the morning. And if you're doing that in conjunction with a cutback of our LRT officers and our transit officers that's a recipe for further problems.

“I don't want to be accused of being a chicken little, and saying the sky is falling, but that's just logic folks.  If you're turning a whole bunch of drunks loose on our public transit system late at night and you don't have the police officers to staff it we're going to have a problem.  And we've had problems in the past.”

The Transit and Police Partnership (TAPP) initiative began in July and was expected to run to December when its “overall success would be evaluated.”

The program paired up four police officers with four transit peace officers to patrol the Capital Line LRT.

Although police patrols will not continue, transit officials said security would still be a priority.

“We leverage technology as best we can. We have an extensive CCTV system that is monitored. We have eyes and ears out there everywhere. We are going to do the best we can to continue the reassurance to the public that safety is our number one priority,” director of customer safety and security Ron Gabruck told CTV News.

He added that they had 70 peace officers to ensure security for riders.

However Manwar Khan, who witnessed a violent attack on an LRT, said he was concerned with the move.

“We felt safer when we saw Edmonton police on LRT. I felt safer.

“If Edmontonians don’t feel safe they might choose not to ride LRT.”

According to the City budget, ridership has grown over the last nine years by 54.3 per cent and is expected to exceed 90 million by the end of 2015.

Gabruck said he would be open to partnering with the police again if the opportunity arose.

“We learnt a lot from the Edmonton Police Service. They were a valued piece of our safety plan and of course we welcome them on our system in any way, shape or form.”

With files from Amanda Anderson