Niagara Falls Council is asking Niagara Transit to investigate the possibility of offering heavily discounted transit fares to seniors.
Councillor Ruth-Ann Nieuwesteeg had previously promoted the idea of removing transit fees for seniors altogether.
However, the issue is a controversial one because the amount of provincial gas tax funding for transit Niagara Region receives is influenced by the fare charged to riders. If a rider rides for free, that ride doesn’t count toward the provincial funding model.
At a July 26 Council meeting, Niagara Transit corporate administration manager Jordan Hambleton told Councillors that Nieuwesteeg’s proposal will be investigated at a transit board meeting this month.
The Niagara Transit Commission is also looking into proposals to offer heavily discounted or free services to youth.
Nieuwesteeg asked Hambleton whether the Commission would treat youth and seniors the same: if one group were to be able to ride for free or were to be offered a heavy discount, would that apply to the other group as well?
Hambleton argued that the two groups are different.
“One consideration for students would be that when you’re encouraging students to use transit, you’re sort of building a habit or exposing them to transit when they might not otherwise have done so. So, the idea would be to build ridership for the future.”
Seniors, on the other hand, don’t have future habits to build where they could become full-paying customers somewhere down the line.
For Hambleton, that’s the main, and possibly only, difference between how youth and seniors might be treated.
Nieuwesteeg argued back, saying “I’m not sure the youth need to have free ridership so that they can learn to ride the bus.”
She then noted that seniors have been “contributing members of our society, the ones that are the most vulnerable at this stage,” and ought to be treated with deference.
Nieuwesteeg argued that many seniors “can’t go back and get a job” and need help when it comes to covering the cost of transportation. On the other hand, she noted that youth are quite capable and can go out and get jobs to help cover the cost of transportation.
Hambleton said that when both potential discounts for youth and seniors are looked into by the Niagara Transit Commission, a financial lens and ability to pay will be used when looking at how to move forward.
Seniors, according to Nieuwesteeg, represent just six per cent of Niagara’s transit ridership, a much lower proportion than youth, making a break for them much more affordable when it comes to the overall budget.
Near the end of a Council meeting that lasted nearly nine hours, Niagara Falls Council endorsed a motion from Nieuwesteeg calling for significantly discounted fares for seniors.
Jay Goldberg is the Canadian Affairs Manager at the Consumer Choice Center. He previously served as the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and a policy fellow at the Munk School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Jay holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
