Langford city council voted unanimously on Monday, June 3rd to call on the BC government to implement legislation that would make transit free for all seniors and youths.
These initiatives have been shopped around the province by the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) who are advocating their two resolutions—one for transit to be free for all who are 65-years-old and up and the other for transit to be free for all those aged 18-years-old and and under.
“This motion aims to… invest in transit as a way for communities the achieve their emissions targets and broader climate action goal while supporting a higher quality of life for the future leaders of our community by making transportation affordable and accessible today,” said Councillor Colby Harder in bringing the youth resolution to the floor.
Councillor Harder added that as residents get older, seniors may not feel comfortable driving a vehicle themselves anymore. Having access to free transit will improve access to medical appointments, errands and any other trip they may need to make in the region.
At the council meeting in which these resolutions were endorsed by Langford, a few members of the Victoria Transit Riders Union (VTRU) were present to speak to the importance of the free transit.
“These two UBCM motions could, at a stroke, reduce emissions and environmental microplastics and improve road safety by helping to empower seniors to get to where they need to go without the use of their car and by instilling in youth the potentially lifelong habit of using public transit—and not by mandate or prohibition, but by simply encouraging and enabling people to make another choice,” said Nathan Bird, a member of the VTRU.
Related:
- ‘Freedom of movement’: Oak Bay endorses free transit for all seniors and youth
- Victoria’s BC Transit fleet impacted by Transport Canada recall
Another VTRU member spoke of how isolation and loneliness are significant mental health factors that can impact peoples’ physical health as well. She says that free transit would help mitigate these issues by providing increased access to connectivity and socialization.
“We want to give people the things that they need,” said Liz Cronin, a social worker and member of the VTRU.
“This not only saves human suffering—which is very important and I think would be valuable even if it cost money—but it actually saves money. It’s way more affordable to provide fare-fee transit for a person so they can access nutrition, see their loved ones, and access healthcare and recreation, than it is to later have them picked up by an ambulance or the police, ending up in the hospital or other systems that cost money.”
Langford is just the latest municipality to endorse these resolutions and call on the Province to implement them as Oak Bay voted in favour of the endorsements last week and Saanich has already voted one through as well, with a call for free seniors’ transit going before council next week.
Next, the resolutions will be taken to the upcoming 2024 UBCM Convention in September where the organization hopes for additional municipalities to endorse their resolutions.
