New resolution calls for expanding fare-free transit to K-12 students
Illustration by Sona Eidnani.
A new proposal brought by the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) and sponsored by the Sunshine Coast Regional District is calling on the B.C. government to expand its fare-free transit program to include all students in the province up to grade 12.
Because this initiative has been approved at the UBCM level, the proposal will be formally presented to the province for consideration.
B.C. currently offers free public transit for children under 12, meaning students can ride transit without cost until around Grade 6. Additionally, many programs — such as the U-pass for students at the University of Victoria, the BC Bus Pass Program for low-income seniors or people with disabilities, and the adult monthly pass — offer discounted passes to regular transit users, and those who face barriers to mobility.
The proposal, titled “Free Transit for Students,” aims to remove financial barriers for youth to encourage lifelong transit use, as well as to promote low-carbon methods of transportation.
Christina Clemente, Chair of the Victoria Transit Riders Union, said in an interview with the Martlet that with the increasing cost of living, families and communities are struggling — especially children.
“[They] are some of the more vulnerable members of society,” Clemente said. “They usually don’t have access to their own funds. So, having the ability to move freely around the city and get to places … is just invaluable for youth.”
The City of Kingston, Ontario, was the co-winner of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Sustainable Community Award in the transportation category in 2018, for an initiative which provided a transit orientation guide for high school students.
The collaboration between school boards and the city resulted in a program that allowed students to familiarize themselves with the transit system, drastically increasing the amount of trips teenagers took from 30 000 to 600 000 in the project’s first year.
High schoolers have been riding for free on Kingston Ontario public transit since 2012, and the economic and environmental impact on parents and the city has been massive — Kingston’s Transit High School Buss Pass Project has significantly reduced the city’s use of cars. Students benefit by “[learning] a life skill that gives them more freedom and helps them remain physically active.”
Kingston is not the only city in Canada that has been investing in free transit for youth. Other Ontario cities like Belleville and Burlington have started similar free transit initiatives for youth, beginning in 2023.
In B.C., the St. Albert’s City Council of the Sunshine Coast unanimously voted to provide free transit for youth in 2020, and the city of Victoria implemented the Youth U-Pass in 2022 that allows youth up to 18 to travel for free on the Victoria Regional transit system. All these initiatives across Canada have shown a steady increase in bus ridership.
Nevertheless, some people argue that public transit shouldn’t be free, because it is already subsidized. Such is the case of one Reddit user, who stated under a post asking Victoria residents to promote the proposal: “Yeah no. People can afford things. Like a bus pass. Or a bike. Cars aren’t free. Nothing is free. The youth are capable people that don’t need to be coddled.”
Another Reddit user, CanadianTrollToll, also stated: “It blows my mind how much “free” things people expect. There is only so much money in the pot…There is no secret to halving the funding and [maintaining the] same service levels someone else pays for it.”
Expanding free transit to all students on a provincial level would come with financial challenges, because BC Transit already relies on both government subsidies and fare revenue to help fund operations. The Sunshine Coast Regional District’s resolution asks the provincial government to step in with additional funding, in order to support the initiative.
With the future of the resolution still unknown, transit advocates continue to push for a system that prioritizes accessibility and affordability.
“Youth aged 13-18 in the crucial developmental stage of adolescence need basic mobility more than ever to thrive in every aspect of their lives,” stated the Centre for Family Equity, who also supports the resolution.
“BC needs a universal approach to public transit that ensures no youth is left behind.”
