Council gives seniors break from fare hike

Edmonton seniors wary of coughing up more than double the price they paid last year for an annual transit pass were granted a one-year exemption by city councillors Friday, even though it could leave the city on the hook for $402,000 in lost revenue.

Seniors who don’t meet the low-income cut-off of $28,513 for a free transit pass were initially expected to pay $237.50 more for the same annual bus pass this year. But a successful motion by Coun. Andrew Knack Friday will exempt seniors who purchased the pass in 2019 and keep the fee at $136.50 for one more year.

It’s a response to a slew of concerns made by residents about the lack of warning and time to budget for the increased price under the recently-approved transit fare policy, Knack said.

The city estimates lost revenue of $402,000 in providing the exemption, but Knack said he is skeptical of that figure with all the complaints he received and the lack of appetite by seniors to buy the annual transit passes at the higher rate.

“I’d be shocked if there’s actually a net cost to us because just the sheer number of people I heard from who said they can’t afford it this year, I think we would have seen a revenue decrease overall,” he said.

So far, 606 annual passes have been sold for the April 1 start date, but the city will refund the difference for eligible seniors.

Some seniors might also get a further discount under a sliding-scale option the city will look at bringing in this year instead of waiting until the smart fare system is implemented in 2021, as originally planned.

More than 6,500 seniors have applied for the free low-income transit passes.