The things we learn when we are young stick with us. Can you still remember your childhood phone number and the words to your favourite song when you were thirteen? This kind of deep memory also holds true for how we get around: you might even say it is “just like riding a bike.” When it comes to public transportation, children who are used to using public transportation are likely to continue to take the bus and train as they grow older.
Children and youth. The perfect target market for public transit
Kids love buses and trains and are often excited to get on board where they can sit right next to their parents. They cannot drive and as they get older, they don’t always want to rely on others to get them where they need and want to go. This presents a window of opportunity to build habits and skills that will cost our city less over the long run and make it a safer, less polluted, and a less congested place to live.
In fact, these are some of the reasons why, in 2023, the City of Ottawa joined peer communities across the country in providing free transit for children aged 0-12. Like communities throughout BC, Calgary, Toronto, Halifax, and St. John’s, Ottawa saw the value in encouraging and supporting youth to take public transportation. In our neighbouring community of Gatineau, children under 12 travel free and high school students have a special pass that allows them free use over the summer and all evenings, weekends, and school breaks. Noteworthy is the example of Kingston, where young people up to age 14 benefit from free transit and all high school students ride free during the school year. As a result, youth ridership has grown exponentially and total transit ridership increased by 73%! The Kingston model, which includes both free transit and training, has been widely celebrated and the local champion, Dan Hendry, continues to help communities around the world to “Get On the Bus”.
Elimination of free and discounted youth fares feels like a step back for Ottawa transit
The proposed 2025 budget would eliminate free fares for 11– and 12– year-olds and scrap the youth monthly passes all together. This means young people would go from paying nothing at all or $99.25 per month to $135.75 per month. That comes out to $1,629 per year, a large burden on families with children and young people who are either below the legal minimum age to work or are only likely to find low-wage part-time jobs.
Making the budget work
It is no secret that this year’s transit budget has been difficult to craft. Cities across the country are asking for a better deal from the federal government, and our city has called on the Ontario government to step up as well. There is no question that the City feels the pressure to cut costs, but cutting costs needs to be balanced with a long-term plan to grow ridership and support a thriving, effective transit system.
The potential revenue that could be generated by the changes to youth discounts is small. In 2023, transit revenue from the 8–12-year-old demographic was estimated at $174,000 per year. When narrowed to the 11–12-year-old range, that revenue drops to an estimated $69,600 per year. By eliminating the youth pass, the City is expecting to generate $ 5.57 million dollars.
In a nearly $5B annual budget, these costs seem like a worthwhile investment in the next generation of transit riders, while supporting affordability for local families, sustainable travel and youth mobility.
Together, we can find better solutions
Increasing fares for those who are still using transit is not the path out of the transit downward spiral. We need alternatives to build ridership back. Instead of relying on a smaller number of riders paying high fares we should aim to grow the pie with more riders taking more trips to generate fare revenue (or we could look to eliminate fares altogether).
We can and must find other solutions. Revenues do not have to come solely from fares or property taxes; there are also other methods that cities have turned to for funding youth passes. The City of Victoria, BC funds free transit for youth by instituting paid parking on Sundays. In Gatineau, they are able to generate funds for transit through vehicle registration fees. In Kingston, the school board and city shared costs to provide free transit to high school students.
Ottawa residents deserve good quality, sustainable, accessible options to get around
This means recognizing and addressing the challenges transit is facing and looking at how to build ridership. Let’s start by nurturing the next generation of transit riders, rather than building more barriers and asking them to pay more. If you agree, please share this article with your friends, family, city councillors, and the Mayor. Email or call your councillor to let them know that you support free and discounted transit for young people to ensure a brighter future for transportation.