By Mary Ann Wasilka
Published December 2001
The bus system in Waterloo Region is one of the most underrated municipal services. Buses provide an alternative to the car for getting around town. Buses can potentially reduce the number of car trips, each of which are hard on the road, the car, and the environment.
Buses can have a very important social function providing the means to get to work, interviews, medical appointments, or take children to daycare, when there is no access to a car. As bus transit fares have increased substantially, people who find themselves without work or living on a limited and fixed income often do not have the cash to buy a $54 dollar monthly bus pass and can afford only a few $2 one-way fares in a month.
The Working Centre has hosted a Transportation Users Group for the past three years. During that time we have looked at issues that relate to how accessible and affordable bus travel is for people who are unemployed or underemployed.
Our group is made up of people, who are transit users, live on a limited income, or have been concerned about access to the transit system. We have been an active part of the Grand River Transit Affordability and Accessibility consultation and have joined with the Mental Health coordinating Committee’s Transportation Working Group.
On November 20th the first phase of the Transit Affordability and Accessibility Consultation recommended to Regional Council that agencies that provide emergency and support services be sold discounted bus tickets that can then be given to individuals in need.
The second part of the report is much broader. The report committed staff to report back to council in early 2002 with a plan to provide a similar fare discount for the working poor and those on Social Assistance (who are not eligible for transportation assistance). The report noted that there are a number of significantly complex operational and administrative issues to be resolved in order to implement this proposal.
We are hopeful that the implementation of a reduced fare will make bus transportation a more accessible option to a wider group of people.
A second part of our work has been the drafting of a discussion paper on Urban Sprawl and how this contributes to unsustainable cities. Promoting the use of public transit is essential to healthy cities and therefore understanding how we plan our Regional urban areas to reduce our reliance on private vehicles is necessary. We feel that providing for convenient transportation alternatives within our cities must be part of effective land use and the preservation of prime agricultural land.
