Province contributes $6.

2M to Edmonton low
income transit pass
The three-year pilot will cover half the cost of Edmonton's low income transit pass
program
This article was published by Laura Osman of the CBC On May 26th. This is a great idea from the City
of Edmonton, this is going to help those who are on low income to be able to get around the cityhether
it is for doctors appointments, looking for work or go see social workers when needed and it will also
elp those who have low paying jobs to get to work and back home and it will save them transportation
money which they can in turn use for other things such as food. This also great of the Alberta
Government to step in and help out with this project.

Low income families will get a 60 per cent break on the cost of transit in Edmonton starting in 2017,
thanks to a new pilot project launched by the provincial government.
Human Services Minister Irfan Sabir announced the government will put $6.2 million toward
Edmonton's low income transit pass over the next three years. The city will contribute the same amount
toward the total cost of the program.
The discount will reduce the monthly cost of transit to $35.
"A low income transit pass in Edmonton will make it easier for families to get around the city to access
jobs, education, healthcare, community resources and government services," Sabir said.
Sabir is expected to make a similar announcement in Calgary on Friday.

Pass integral to ending poverty

In Edmonton, the low income transit pass is an important initiative in the city's plan to end poverty.
In the past, the city would ticket people for riding the LRT without paying even if they couldn't afford
to pay the fare, said Mayor Don Iveson.
"Trying to charge people who don't have money to use a service and then unintentionally criminalizing
them has been the wrong approach," Iveson said.
Families that are below the low-income cut-off will be eligible for the pass. More details about the
application and distribution process will be available in June, and the passes will be available the
following year.

The provincial funding is expected to last until mid-2018. Sabir said the government will evaluate the
success of the project once the pilot is over.

Renee Vaugeois, the executive director of the John Humphrey Society of Peace and Human Rights, said
reducing the cost of transit will vastly improve the quality of life for low income families.
"I know of young women, because of the cost of bus tickets, walking from Millwoods to downtown in
the middle of winter, with babies, to access supports," Vaugeois said.

Subsidy will go a long way

Iveson said the decision to put the money toward a discount for low income families, rather than
lowering the cost of transit for all riders, was based on the percentage of income this group has
available to spend on transportation.
"We know that $90 to $100 for a bus pass for people who are working poor is a huge, huge percentage
of their income.
"I think where government can provide a targeted subsidy that gives relief and enables that low-income
person to access education, or work more, be more productive all of those things have much greater
social returns than just a blanket to everybody," he said.
Sabir said the government plans to work with Edmonton on other elements of its initiative to end
poverty.
Meanwhile Edmonton transit is looking at ways to redesign the system to better connect people with
jobs and services, particularly for people who do shift work. He said those changes will likely come
into effect in 2018.