Coun. Christine Boyle wants kids aged 13 to 18 added to TransLink’s free transit program
Article content
The provincial government should allow teenagers up to age 18 to ride transit for free, according to Vancouver city councillor Christine Boyle.
Advertisement 2
Article content
At next week’s council meeting, Boyle will present a motion asking Mayor Ken Sim to send a letter to various government ministries and committees asking that British Columbians aged 13 to 18 be included in B.C. Transit’s Get on Board program.
Article content
According to the motion, in 2021 the B.C. NDP made public transit free for all children 12 and under in every transit system across B.C.
The Get on Board program’s goal was to save money for families, increase access to affordable transport and create a habit for children to use public transit.
The City of Vancouver went a step further in creating the Reduced Fare Transit Pilot which gave 100 teenagers a free one-zone TransLink compass pass for six months from October 2021 to March 2022.
Article content
Advertisement 3
Article content
The Centre for Family Equity reported on the program and concluded that free transit access opened up the lives of participants and improved their access to school, after-school programs, volunteering and social activities. Parents also reported that their teen’s sense of belonging and worth had improved with free transit access.
“Transit access is a survival lifeline to access shelter, school, support services, health care, and food security for low-income youth whose families may not have a vehicle, and the cost of a monthly transit pass for teens can be extremely challenging for working families already struggling with the high cost of living in Vancouver,” Boyle wrote in her motion.
She said the B.C. Poverty Reduction Coalition and Centre for Family Equity had been advocating for the All on Board program to be expanded to include those aged 13 to 18.
Advertisement 4
Article content
The City of Vancouver council is dominated by the ABC Vancouver political party — to which Boyle does not belong — so there is no promise that this motion will be approved.
TransLink is in expansion mode and in February asked the federal and B.C. government to provide $500 million in emergency relief transit funding.
Expansion plans include the doubling of bus service, nine new RapidBus transit lines and expansion of active transportation infrastructure, including extending SkyTrain to the University of B.C. and building a gondola to Simon Fraser University.
In March, TransLink’s board of directors voted to increase fares on transit by five or 10 cents beginning on July 1.
— with files from Tiffany Crawford
-
TransLink calls on feds for $250 million in emergency relief transit funding, wants B.C. to match
-
TransLink votes to increase transit fees in Metro Vancouver
-
Brad West: Metro Vancouver’s transit system is at a crossroads
dcarrigg@postmedia.com
Spring subscription sale: Our in-depth journalism is possible thanks to the support of our subscribers. For a limited time, you can get full online access to the Vancouver Sun and The Province, along with the National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites, for just $40 for one year or $1 a week for 52 weeks. Support our journalism by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun.
Comments
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.
Join the Conversation