UBCM calls for province to pay for free transit for teenagers

The Union of B.C. Municipalities is asking the provincial government to make transit free for teenagers.

The Union of B.C. Municipalities is asking the provincial government to make transit free for teenagers.

Local leaders passed a resolution on the issue Thursday morning at the UBCM’s annual convention in Vancouver.

Buses, SkyTrain, SeaBus and the West Coast Express are currently free for kids 12 and under, but the UBCM would like to see youth through to Grade 12 covered as well.

“They will become adults that are paying regular fare, and we need to have better transit adoption to ensure that our transit systems are sustainable into the future,” said Colby Harder, a councillor for the City of Landford.

TransLink says making teens free would cost $30 million a year.

“Not everybody needs it to be free. I would be more supportive of something that … has some form of income test to it,” said Dennis Marsden, a Coquitlam councillor.

That was the recommendation of a report presented to the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation back in June.