People with disabilities will soon have to pay Hamilton bus fare as new program slated for 2024

Every time Sharon Ruttan boards a Hamilton bus, she's able to flash a card proving she has low vision in place of paying a fare. 

The Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) card has guaranteed she can get around the city independently, regardless of her fixed income or low vision, Ruttan told councillors at a public works committee meeting Monday. 

But come Jan. 1, 2024, changes to the HSR's subsidized fare programs will mean Ruttan and other residents who are blind, have low vision or use a mobility aid, such as a wheelchair or walker, can no longer use the voluntary pay program that's been in place since 2013.

As cost of living has "skyrocketed," Ruttan said she doesn't have much money left at the end of the month to spend on transit, which she currently takes several times a week to volunteer, run errands or go to social activities. 

"I get very emotional about this because it's not only going to affect me, but a lot of people both financially and emotionally," she said.

The city already received council's approval in July to move ahead with a new "fare assist" program that will offer low-income households a 30 per cent discount.

Fare assist will replace both the voluntary pay program and affordable transit passes — monthly passes that could be purchased at a 50 per cent discount for adults on a low or fixed income, says a staff report.

The city estimates about 500,000 bus trips a year are taken by people who don't pay a fare under the voluntary pay program and only 100 affordable transit passes are purchased a month. 

Transit director Maureen Cosyn Heath told councillors Monday that more people will be eligible for fare assist than under the two other programs and it is more flexible, although many people living with disabilities will be losing the benefit of free transit. 

"We understood and acknowledged these kinds of adaptations are difficult," said Cosyn Heath. "We knew it wouldn't be favourably received by everyone, but it was our best effort." 

Staff estimate over 88,000 people in Hamilton will qualify for fare assist, which will be offered on a pay-as-you-go basis through Presto cards. If the estimated 10 per cent of these people sign up, the city estimates it will cost $2.4 million a year, but will be paid for through the provincial gas tax.

Several delegates who live with disabilities told the public works committee they'd learned of changes only this fall — months after an online public survey was conducted and the fare assist was already approved. 

CNIB advocacy lead Bernard Akuoko said city staff didn't directly reach out to people with low vision and blindness to inform them of the survey and provide them with other ways to complete it other than online. As a result, many learned of the changes from bus drivers or the news.

"This is a vulnerable population," Akuoko said. "It's so important to get their real stories of what's going on."