New proposal seeks to link Waterloo region students with free public transportation

A public school board trustee is hoping to explore a partnership that would offer Waterloo Region students free rides on public transportation.

Waterloo Region District School Board trustee Jayne Herring put the motion forward at a Monday night meeting to request a report on what it would take to provide free bus passes for secondary school students, as well as free transportation for students from kindergarten to age 14.

"It is recommended that the Waterloo Region District School Board trustees request a report exploring the feasibility of partnering with the Region of Waterloo and or the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo, to provide free bus passes for secondary school students, as well as free transportation for students from Kindergarten to age 14,” Jayne Herring said during the meeting on Monday.

The idea comes after eight school bus routes were cancelled Monday due to ongoing school bus driver shortages.

“I have received quite a few requests from parents for information or help with transportation in the last couple of weeks,” Herring said.

Grand River Transit used to offer reduced fares for all elementary and high school students, but that service ended in July 2021. GRT now offers reduced fares to low-income families for their kids to get to school.

“I’m hearing from parents that even though certainly they might not qualify for that program, that it's still very expensive to buy two passes for two secondary students to attend school. So I think we owe it to our students, and our families and our community to give this a good try,” Herring said.

Currently, a GRT monthly transit pass costs $90. If you qualify for the affordable transit program, you get 48 per cent off that cost, bringing it down to $46.80 per month for a pass.

To be eligible for the program, a one person household must make less than $26,625.95 a year. The scale goes up to a six-person household with a limit of $65,219.99.

“Part of this motion is the greenhouse aspect of it. The encouraging students to learn about transportation,” Herring said.

Herring said she got the idea from an award winning partnership between the City of Kingston and the public school board there. That model allows kids under 14 to ride the bus for free, while registered high school students must show a class schedule to get a free transit pass. The passes are valid from September 1 to August 31 and the program is funded by the school board and the city.

Herring thinks something similar could be implemented in Waterloo Region.

“It is election time. If this is something that parents would want to see, we would encourage them to contact their elected official,” Herring said.

School board staff will work on a report looking at what kind of impacts this would have and what it would take to be implemented. The report will be presented to the school board once it is complete.

“The Region continues to increase access to affordable and sustainable transportation for residents across the region. Through the Affordable Transit Program, more residents living with low-income have equitable access to reduced transit fares, including elementary and secondary students,” a spokesperson with the Region of Waterloo said in an email.