Bus rates still too costly: advocate

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This article was published 06/10/2021 (1522 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeggers are buying low-income bus passes at a fraction of the rate the city expected.

Just 1,017 people applied for the monthly Winnipeg Transit pass during the first year after it was launched on May 1, 2020, about 15 per cent of the predicted demand.

Amid pandemic warnings to use the bus for “essential purposes only” and health restrictions that sometimes left few possible destinations to travel to, all Transit ridership plummeted.

However, one potential rider said she delayed her own low-income bus pass purchase primarily over its price, something the city also identified as a barrier.

“It’s not cheap enough. It’s not targeting… people in poverty. Even at 50 per cent (of the normal price), people still are not going to be able to afford it,” said Debby Sillito, who lives with a disability and relies on income assistance.

The city’s low-income bus pass was introduced last year at a price of $71.45 per month, which fell to $62.40 in 2021 and is expected to drop to $53 in 2022. A full-fare monthly bus pass costs $104.

Sillito said it can be challenging for many people to save up the monthly fee, since those who rely on income assistance have food budgets limited to just a few dollars a day. She said the price was the key reason she didn’t apply for a pass last year, a process she’s now started as the discount deepens.

“There’s many, many single people and single people on disability, that are not going to be able to afford to get it… They’re asking people to choose between eating and taking the bus,” said Sillito.

She’s urging the city to add discounted single fares (instead of just monthly ones) and an income-based sliding scale price system for monthly passes, to make the rides more affordable.

During its first year, the city approved 832 of the 1,017 applications for the low-income bus pass program, also known as WINNpass, and sold 2,599 monthly passes. Some who qualified did not purchase a single pass, while others didn’t do so every month.

Kate Kehler, executive director of the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg, echoed the call for the city to offer steeper, income-based discounts.

“They need to take a deeper look at (the program) and find out if it’s actually adequate enough to really entice people (onto) the bus,” said Kehler, who noted a Calgary program sells monthly bus passes for as little as $5.45.

Coun. Matt Allard, council’s public works chairman, said he’s concerned COVID reduced the affordability of the pass, as low-income Winnipeggers likely suffered most from job losses and pay cuts.

“Even though it’s a significant reduction in the fare, it’s still a barrier for people that are low income to purchase a bus pass,” said Allard.

The councillor said he hopes to ensure that Transit can add on discounts for single rides, which he thinks would bring the city closer to income-based rates.

“Ideally, that would be a policy goal to strive for, and I think we’re going in that direction,” said Allard.

A city report notes Transit already plans to study whether it’s feasible to discount other bus fares, such as single ride prices, with a report expected around May 2022.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga