Notice of Motion from May 21, 2024 — Free Transit for Young People in BC (Councillor Harder) — Background/Supporting Material

Background - Free Youth Transit

Transportation access is one of the greatest needs expressed by youth in Langford. Under the Get On Board! program children aged 6 to 12 are able to ride conventional and handyDART buses for free, unaccompanied and without requiring a fare product or identification. Children aged 5 and under must be accompanied by someone 12 years or older to ride the bus, and must board and depart at the same stop as their guardian. The proposal is to expand this program to include all young people, up to, and including the age of 18.

Young people, aged 13-18 are currently excluded from this important program in BC. 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. Our youths are the future of this province and our most valuable resource. We must ensure their right to access school and thrive, while BC brings up new generations who choose sustainable transportation for life.

A universal approach, ensures that no youth is left behind or singled out due to their socioeconomic status. We cannot separate the right of every youth to access their school from their access to the mobility to do so.

Youth mobility is also about the opportunity to participate in important extra-curricular activities and the freedom youth need to grow, whether they are accessing a pool, a drop-in centre, a job, a shelter, health services, or a family member’s home across town.

For low-income youth whose families may not have access to a vehicle and the means to provide transit passes, youth facing marginalization, and youth living in a household where adult guardian(s) work full time, transit access is a survival lifeline to access shelter, school, jobs, community programs, support services, health care, and food security.

The cost of ensuring at-risk youth can access the essential programs and services funded to support youth outcomes in BC is downloaded onto non-profits that often struggle to remove the access barrier’ of lack of access to transit. That youth-in-need may miss the lifesaving supports available in BC due to mobility poverty and lack of access to transit is an avoidable travesty solved with free transit up to age 18.

Pilot and observed impacts

The City of Vancouver ran a free transit pilot project in 2021-2022, and this pilot project captured the impact of unlimited, free transit on low-income youth from their parents’ perspectives. Youth took more initiative to organize their lives; parents witnessed increased uptake of after-school activities, mental health support services, and increased social inclusion. There was an overall increase in mental health and well-being among youth since they were no longer left behind or had to experience shame when asking for free rides. We can no longer afford to leave our most valuable resource behind, our youth, and we must build a new culture of green transportation rooted in generations to come.

Benefits

• Increased accessibility: Young people, especially those from low-income families, may face barriers to accessing public transportation due to cost. Making transit free removes this barrier and ensures that young people can access education, employment, social activities, and other essential services more easily.

• Fosters environmental sustainability: Encouraging the use of public transportation among young people can contribute to sustainability efforts by reducing the carbon footprint associated with individual car travel. It promotes environmentally friendly modes of transportation and helps instill sustainable habits in young people from a young age.

• Equity and social inclusion: Providing free transit for young people promotes equity by ensuring that all young people, regardless of socioeconomic status, have equal access to transportation options. It helps create more inclusive communities where everyone can participate fully in social, educational, and economic activities.

• Long-term benefits: Encouraging young people to use public transportation early in life can lead to lifelong habits of sustainable transportation use. This can have long-term benefits for cities in terms of reducing traffic, increasing travel efficiency, lower emissions, and increased social inclusion.

• Promotes independence: Free transit allows young people to travel independently, which can be empowering and important for their personal development. It enables them to participate in extracurricular activities, hold a job, visit friends and family, and explore their community without relying on others for transportation.

• Reduces traffic congestion: Encouraging young people to use public transportation can help reduce the number of cars on the road, easing traffic congestion and potentially lowering emissions and improving air quality.

• Supports education: Access to free transit can help ensure that young people have the ability to attend school regularly, arrive to school on time, and participate in extracurricular activities, regardless of their family's financial situation. This can contribute to improved educational outcomes and opportunities for young people.

Overall, making transit free for young people can contribute to creating more equitable, sustainable, and accessible transportation systems and communities.

Previous Relevant UBCM Resolutions

Expanding the Fare-Free Transit Program

• Year: 2022
• Number: NR58
• Sponsor(s): Central Saanich

Whereas the BC Governments fare-free transit program for youth aged 12 and under grade 6 saves families money while offering youth low-carbon transportation that helps the province and municipalities reach carbon neutrality targets;

And whereas expanding eligibility to those aged 13 and under grade 7 would reduce the current disparity between the have fare-free and those who have not within middle schools:

Therefore be it resolved that the UBCM endorse a request that the Province of BC expands the fare-free transit program for youth aged 13 and under grade 7.

Convention Decision: Endorsed

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Partnerships for Fare-Free Public Transit

• Year: 2020
• Number: NR26
• Sponsor(s): Victoria

Whereas equitable access to mobility is fundamental to full and meaningful participation in local communities, including access to education, employment, services, recreation, culture and community life, and noting that emissions from transportation generate a majority of community-based emissions in many communities, meaning that changes in transportation options have the potential to have a substantial impact in reducing green-house gas emissions;

And whereas forward-looking jurisdictions around the world from Kingston, Ontario to Kansas City, Missouri, to Luxembourg and Estonia are eliminating user-fee barriers to public transit ridership, with residents paying for transit services through the tax system rather than at the fare box:

Therefore be it resolved that UBCM call on the provincial government to work with local governments to introduce fare-free public transit services where communities support the elimination of user-fee barriers to public transit ridership.

Convention Decision: Not Considered - Automatic Referral to Executive
Executive Decision: Not Endorsed

Identical resolutions:

• NEB2 (2022) – Not endorsed
• NR17 (2021) – Not endorsed

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Prioritizing Provincial Funding for Large Transit Expansions

• Year: 2022
• Number: NR57
• Sponsor(s): Nanaimo RD

Whereas transit systems across BC would benefit from expanded service hours to better serve residents and enable them to travel efficiently;

And whereas to remain in line with regional and provincial strategic goals for sustainable transportation, larger expansions of transit systems are necessary as they move regions and municipalities towards common goals and improve transit for a greater portion of the population:

Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urge the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and BC Transit to prioritize large transit expansions when determining allocation of transit funding, in line with regional and provincial strategic goals for sustainable transportation.

Convention Decision: Endorsed as Amended