Councillors put the brakes on plan to offer seniors free bus rides

A plan to offer seniors free rides on Sudbury Transit hit a few bumps Tuesday when some city councillors questioned the purpose of the proposal.

The idea was one of Mayor Brian Bigger's campaign promises, and would see seniors or older adults ride free during off-peak times.

Lorella Hayes, the city's chief financial officer who is now in charge of transit after a recent reshuffling, outlined a six-month pilot project in which seniors would ride free from 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and after 6:30 p.m., on Mondays only.

Lost revenue would be about $24,500 if eligibility was limited to people 65 and older, Hayes said. If the cutoff was age 55, lost revenue would be about $44,000.

After six months, results of the pilot project would be analyzed and a decision would be made about the future of the project in time for the 2017 budget.

However, some councillors asked about the purpose of the initiative. Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh said it may not be popular to say, but she wondered why the city would offer one section of the population something for free, regardless of their income.

“Is it a subsidy? Or is it to increase ridership?” McIntosh asked.

“Why are we encouraging seniors to take transit, as opposed to other demographics?”

For example, she said Hamilton offers lower-income residents discounted transit fares, provided they pass a means test.

“I'm looking at making it fair – to offer subsidies to those who need it most,” McIntosh said. “To provide a subsidy to one demographic regardless of income doesn't seem fair.”

And Ward 6 Coun. René Lapierre wondered why the free rides for seniors would extend to the Handi-Transit system, which is already beyond capacity and regularly exceeds the budget.

“Now we're going to offer free rides?” Lapierre said.

And he said areas of his ward, as well as some other councillors, can't even get bus service. Ward 3 Coun. Gerry Montpellier said there's 10,000 people in his ward who fit that description.

“It's virtually impossible for them to take part in this in any way shape or form,” Montpellier said.

“I'm in the same boat,” said Ward 2 Coun. Michael Vagnini.

And Ward 5 Coun. Bob Kirwan said seniors in his ward would struggle to get to do their shopping in the old City of Sudbury and get back home within the 4 1/2-hour time frame.

“I don't believe anyone in the Valley can get on the bus at 10 in the morning and return by 2:30,” he said. “You have to give people in the outlying areas time to get back home.”

Ward 12 Coun. Joscelyne Landry-Altmann suggested making it a full-day initiative targeted at families or people with lower incomes.

“I would like to see it be more comprehensive,” she said.

Bigger said it was clear that most councillors wanted more information on other options to expand the free service to other groups.

“Perhaps it's in order to defer,” he said, to give staff time to come up with a broader range of proposals.

That motion passed easily. Staff is expected to come back with a new report in late summer or early fall.