Low-income youth to get transit break
A council committee has voted to undo the Calgary Transit loopholes that force thousands of low-income youth to pay more for transit passes than their parents.
City officials had recommended council allow all low-income youth who aren’t in school to qualify for next year’s $44 low-income pass, rather than the $57.50 monthly youth pass rate.
Aldermen one-upped that plan Wednesday, voting 4-3 in committee Wednesday to let low-income students purchase the discounted passes as well.
Anti-poverty advocates and youth advocates have long decried a gap in city hall’s discount system, which meant that many teens in poverty paid more for bus and LRT use than parents and others above age 18.
It’s a vicious cycle, the committee was told. The higher costs meant some youth would try dodging fares to get to necessary appointments, and the prohibitive fee would keep some from getting to school, various advocates explained.
“Not having a (lower) fare puts them in a situation where they’re criminalized,” Shannon Jones of Alex Youth Health Centre said.
Last week, council voted to ease eligibility for its low-income monthly transit pass, which will cost $44 next year. To help pay for that, aldermen voted to hike the senior’s annual pass to $95 from $55 — which works out to less than the cost of three cash fares per month.
The change for youth passes would take effect in March, if council ratifies the decision later this month. Two potential wrenches in the works could be the cost — up to $2.5 million if there is high uptake — and how it impacts the school boards, which already offer further subsidy on youth passes for students who require busing.
Ald. Shane Keating, a former Catholic school principal, cautioned colleagues against rushing into this proposal without understanding all its impacts.
But for many aldermen, it became a matter of equity.
“Thirteen dollars doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is a lot for some families. It’s groceries,” MacLeod said of the difference between the low-income and regular youth pass rates.
Advocates, who had been working for more than a year with administrators and aldermen on the change, were delighted.
“If it makes sense for the necessity of adults to access transit, it certainly makes sense for the young people who are just developing their social networks, their work networks, their recreational networks and becoming full people,” said Lucy Miller, CEO of United Way Calgary.