Transit pegs cost of free rides for kids at $1M per year

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This article was published 18/06/2019 (1766 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A campaign promise from Coun. Matt Allard carries a pricetag even he admits could squelch the initiative.

A report from Winnipeg Transit says it could cost city taxpayers more than $1 million annually to provide free transportation for children between the ages of six and 11.

The Transit report to the June 25 public works committee meeting details the cost behind Allard’s idea, which includes an estimated $834,000 in lost fare income and $200,000 in additional operating expenses — presumably related to additional salaries for two new buses needed for the project. (The cost of two buses is a further $1.34 million.)

Allard (St. Boniface), who proposed the idea as a 2018 civic election campaign pledge, said he believes the dollar amounts are exaggerated, but admits it may be a tough sell.

“I have to say I’m a bit skeptical on the numbers presented by Transit,” the public works committee chairman said, adding he thought the report exaggerated the number of children using Transit and what it would mean in terms of lost revenue.

“I ride Transit quite a bit, and I just don’t see that age group riding the buses now,” Allard said. “I ran for re-election with the promise that this is something I would bring to council — and I think it’s a good idea. My challenge now is having that conversation with members of the committee and other council members to see if eventually this is something we would fund.”

Allard had hoped the initiative would develop ridership familiarity with a new client group who would become paying customers after turning 12. He said offering free fares to children ages six to 11 might also might encourage parents to use Transit more as well.

Currently, children ages five and younger ride Winnipeg Transit for free; children between the ages of six and 16 (and other high school-aged youth) receive a 30 per cent discount on the full fare.

Transit says it collected $8.34 million in children and youth fare revenue in 2018, but it has no way of knowing how many of those children fall between the ages of six and 11. It estimates the number at 10 per cent, and placed the potential lost revenue at $834,000.

The report noted Edmonton has been offering free transit to children since 2018, where it’s estimated the annual revenue loss will be about $2 million with an additional $880,000 in operating costs, along with the need to purchase 17 additional buses. Meanwhile, Toronto saw a marked jump in the number of children riders (to 28 million from 22 million), when it began offering free transportation, which is estimated amounted to $8 million in lost fare revenue.

Winnipeg Transit says it didn’t expect to see the same experience as Toronto and Edmonton, and projected lower operating costs and fare revenue loss.

As an alternative, Transit suggests free fares for children could be incorporated into the proposed low-income discount initiative, which has yet to be fully costed.

The report, while not making any recommendation to the committee, says if councillors do want to proceed, officials strongly recommend children be required to register a Peggo card, requiring them to provide their age, and the free fare period would expire on their 12th birthday.

“One of the key challenges with offering free transit for children under the age of 12 is determining who is eligible at the time of use,” the report states. “Bus operators would have a difficult time determining the age of a child if no additional identification was required.

“Some controls would need to be in place to ensure the program was not abused.”

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca