Sure a bus will kneel, but once on the bus a wheelchair can give you a rough ride. New contributor Paul Vienneau writes on how he has been working with Halifax Transit to fix that, and how a trip to Disney World made him realize that a solution is out there.
Kendall Worth about the people on income assistance he encounters here in in Halifax who worry about free bus passes becoming available this spring. “Don’t’ get me wrong. I do agree that there is a strong need for all income assistance recipients, and anyone living in poverty for that matter, to have access to free bus passes. I know quite a few people who are excited about the free bus passes becoming available. But for some it will mean $78 less each month for rent or groceries,” he writes.
Councillors on the Halifax Transportation Committee are recommending that the bus pass discount pilot project be expanded. The program allows low income Haligonians to buy a bus pass for half the price. Some say access to transportation is a basic necessity, and the City could do much better.
Community Services budget numbers back up what a lot of people on social assistance and poverty advocates have been saying for years. The department is cutting back on bus passes and other travel expenses.
$5.15 for a monthly transit pass for people living in deep poverty. Calgary just did it! What about Halifax?
Half-price transit passes for people who live on low incomes doesn’t go far enough, says chronic complainer Robert Devet. Public transit for the very poor should be free, and Community Services should stop shirking its responsibility.