Transit services in the Capital Region could become free if a proposal at the hands of two Victoria councillors gains traction in the City of Victoria and region-wide.

 

At this morning’s Committee of the Whole meeting council will debate whether to support a motion introduced by councillors Isitt and Dubow that would lead the municipality down the path of fare-less transit services for all riders, while transferring the fare portion of the Victoria Regional Transit System’s funding to property taxes.

 

Isitt and Dubow’s motion states that a “climate emergency has been declared by local governments in the Victoria Regional Transit System service area including the Capital Regional District, the Town of View Royal, the District of Highlands, the District of Saanich and the City of Victoria, pledging these municipalities to become carbon neutral by 2030 in order to meet the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) targets to avoid the worst consequences of global warming.”

More than half of community-based carbon emissions, the motion reads, originate through transportation. Eliminating obstacles to transit ridership, the councillors believe, could “make the biggest impact toward carbon neutrality and meaningful climate action in line with the climate emergency and IPCC targets.”

 

The motion points to Estonia and Luxembourg as examples where national programs have eliminated transit fares, and to Kingston, Ontario, where youth are currently utilizing transit free of charge.

 

The City of Victoria has already outlined a plan to provide free transit services to the municipality’s grade school-aged youth, which the motion identifies as a pilot program beginning in 2020. The City recently adopted a plan to charge drivers for Sunday on-street parking, which goes into effect in May, to pay for youth transit passes. However, Isitt and Dubow suggest funding for the program will materialize through “provincial transfers” and a “property tax requisition.” Is it not immediately clear what role Sunday parking fees play in light of the newly identified revenue sources.

 

Further to Victoria’s in-house plans, the councillors hope to “develop an implementation plan for a pilot programme for free transit within the Capital Region” following the 2020 pilot project, which they would like to see supplanted with “enhanced service levels and fleet expansion to meet increased demand, in conjunction with fleet electrification.”

 

Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps was recently appointed to the board of BC Transit, joining the mayor’s of several jurisdictions from across the province, Victoria Regional Transit Commission chair Susan Brice, and a former mayor of Sooke. Helps role as a BC Transit board member could enable more support for transit-related ideas developed within the City of Victoria.
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