A petition urging free public transit for students on the Sunshine Coast is circulating online and in at least one school.
The online petition was launched earlier this month by Transportation Choices Sunshine Coast (TraC), a group advocating for alternatives to single-occupancy car use. As of late Tuesday, about 185 people had signed it, in addition to about 100 students at Elphinstone Secondary.
Grade 11 Elphinstone student Pippa Boothroyd began circulating a hard copy version last week. “My dad is a member of TRaC – he came to me and asked about whether I’d be interested in this,” said Boothroyd. “We need to figure out ways for kids to take action by themselves. It’s a small thing and at least I could do that.”
Boothroyd said making fares free could give young people more independence. “I know a bunch of kids that would take public transportation if they didn’t have to pay for it.”
Students form kindergarten to Grade 12 are charged $42 for a monthly pass. Regular monthly passes cost $60.
Alun Wooliams, TraC president, said “it’s great to see students getting active on this issue.”
In September, Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) directors received a cluster of letters from parents advocating for reduced or free fares. Directors voted for staff to look at the possibility of reducing fares or making them free for youth before the end of 2019. BC Transit, which co-funds the service, is expected to appear as a delegation at the Nov. 28 corporate and administrative services committee meeting, and according to TraC, the petition will also be presented to the SCRD in late November.
The petition references the City of Victoria, which is expected to offer free passes for youth under 19 by November after council voted on the option this summer.
A larger campaign called #AllOnBoard has been advocating for free transit for youth and to remove financial barriers to public transit systems in several B.C. cities, including Vancouver, New Westminster, Burnaby, Richmond and Port Moody.
