EDMONTON -- Leduc County voted Tuesday night to withdraw from the Regional Transit Service Commission (RTSC) that had previously encompassed 12 Edmonton-area municipalities.

In March Fort Saskatchewan was the last of the 12 to join the commission and only Strathcona County voted not to join at the time.

The aim of the commission was to bring the various transit systems operating in the region under one group.

“After studying the business case provided by Ernst & Young and talking through details like the commission's voting structure, routing costs and pace of the project, we decided as a council that we could not justify the financial and decision-making impacts that joining the RTSC would have on Leduc County and its residents,” said Leduc County Mayor Tanni Doblanko in a press release.

A recent RTSC report estimated Leduc County would be responsible for 1.7 per cent of the Commission’s total operating costs, on top of an $80,000 base fee.

“We will continue to work with our regional partners to explore and evaluate transit opportunities that will provide the most benefit to county residents and visitors.”

Leduc County has approximately 13,100 residents. 

The RTSC could be up and running as soon as 2022.