City could soon provide free transit passes to shelter clients
CTV
The city of Ottawa could soon be providing OC Transpo transit passes free of charge to local shelter clients.
A motion that will be discussed at Wednesday's transit commission meeting, moved by Coun. Catherine McKenney, calls on the commission and council to approve a plan that would provide weekly or monthly transit passes to local shelters to distribute to clients as they see fit.
The motion came about because of a working group within the transit commission to discuss the fare structure of OC Transpo with an aim at reducing financial barriers to accessing the transit system.
"The working group members agree that increased access to transit services for emergency shelter clients provides a benefit not only to people experiencing homelessness but also to the City as a whole," the motion states.
The motion notes that many clients of emergency shelters typically do not purchase transit passes, often because they cannot afford it, and so these proposed passes would not reduce or replace transit fare revenue.
