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A new low-income bus pass program could be ready by September, as regional council gives first reading to a new bylaw that also offers free Halifax Transit service to refugees.

Council originally asked for a low-income transit pass program in 2014, but it was delayed for over two years due to some bylaw red tape. The municipality couldn’t offer a reduced transit price without first creating an overarching bylaw on transit rates.

A general bylaw review to deal with the overlaps created during amalgamation pushed the low-income program even further down the city’s to-do list.
After all that waiting, the first reading of Bylaw U-100 (Respecting User Charges) will take place at Tuesday’s meeting of Regional Council.
The low-income pilot project will offer monthly transit passes for $39 (50 percent off the regular price) to 500 residents.
The reduced rates will only be available to individuals whose annual family income falls below $31,000 (the same threshold for HRM’s properties exemption program). That’s about 34,000 people in the municipality, according to Statistics Canada.
Also ineligible is anyone already getting a transportation allowance through the province’s Employment Support and Income Assistance program.
Applications for the reduced passes will be accepted on a first come, first served basis. Provided there’s no objections from council, the six-month pilot program will begin September 1.

Along with the low-income program, the new bylaw will also grant refugees in the city free use of Halifax Transit for up to one year. That comes out of council’s motion last fall for options on helping to resettle and support Syrian refugees landing in Halifax.
Bylaw U-100 will also end free bus trips for the students at Beaver Bank Monarch Drive Elementary School. A deviated Route 400 Beaver Bank has apparently been providing those kids with free service for years now. Staff recommends ending that practice after this school year, and requiring regular student fares starting in September. A monthly Halifax Regional School Board bus pass is $50.
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This article appears in May 26 – Jun 1, 2016.
Only for the first 500 applicants.
Does Mayor Savage understand the word ‘Bold’ or is he all bluster and no balls ? His parents would be disappointed.
So…….in a neighborhood filled with small children and young families…..I could not help but notice no mention of these elementary children being transported by a regular school bus!……Shame on you HALIFAX COUNCIL……Take from young families with small children their way of getting to school only to try and look nice to 500 lucky to get ahold of passes…….What are you going to do when 1000’s of people who fall into that criteria scream “NO-FAIR”………As it isn’t………more embarassed by the day……..WHEN’S THE ELECTION AGAIN?…..They all have to go!
I am sick of refugees getting everything free getting on buses free for one year there is something wrong here you live here all your life and work all your life when you turn 65 you get your old age pension at $560.00 a month and a free ride on buses once a week at restricted hours also there’s lots of people here working for 10- 11 hour they have to struggle to by there bus passes at about $80.00 a month and these people come here with at least 3-5 children and receive anywhere from 6-7 hundred dollars a month for child taxes and whatever else they receive and they can’t by there bus pass while people live here all there lives and have to struggle to by there pass and everything else dam there’s something wrong with this system
Now now, the working poor should have the same opportunity to wait for hours for delayed/cancelled/subpar/inadequate/borderline pointless service like the rest of us.
Free bus service to refugees and take away free bus services to our youngest students that actually where born on this country,province,municipality. Shame on you council for not looking after our own first. Hey here is an idea, let’s get all the councillors together and let them walk on the Beaverbank Rd. for an entire school year and see how quickly they will not want to do it. All these changes are affecting he people who really need it the most and really can’t afford to pay full price for transit on an already reducing budget. Don’t take away the free bus service from our kids. If you can do it for the refugees then do it for our children. Charity begins at home first.
Is there even a carrot on the end of that stick?
Maybe if bus passes were normally $40/month more people would buy them and use transit more often…
This sounds absurd and sick. 34,000 people that financially qualify, and only 500 cheap passes given by the city? Makes me feel sick. What am I missing, how could that make sense? I get that it’s a pilot project, but 500 passes when 34,000 people are in such dire financial circumstances that they qualify?
Actually, there’s only one free pass. The 34,000 people eligible get a lottery ticket with 500 chosen. Of those 500 there is a round robin “cage fight”, winding down to the Final Two. Two welfare recipients enter, one leaves. To pay for the ticket we’re selling advertising to TSN.