Students will be encouraged to ride local transit buses
The City of Whitehorse and Yukon government are looking at ways to boost students' use of the city's transit system.
The City of Whitehorse and Yukon government are looking at ways to boost students' use of the city's transit system.
City council voted last week to amend its budget bylaw, which sets out transit fees and other charges, to allow for a new fee schedule for group passes purchased by the Department of Education for students and employees.
The price for a regular student monthly pass is $40.
Under the new fee schedule, if the department can drum up interest in a group pass from 25 per cent of the eligible students, the city is offering a 10 per cent discount, or a monthly student pass for $36.
Education spokeswoman Michele Royle said today her department and the city are working out the details of the pilot project.
Currently, she said, the department buys 125 student bus passes.
"I can tell you that most of those passes go to students attending the Teen Parent Learning Centre and Individual Learning Centre students because the regular school bus schedules do not suit their programs,” she said.
"We are in discussions with the city to launch a pilot project to encourage a small number of students to ride the transit, and we are working out those details right now.”
Royle explained it's difficult to discuss numbers at this point while the guidelines for the project are still being developed.
Discussions, she said, are currently focused on group passes for students.
City transit manager Cheri Malo said the project with the department is the first in what is likely to be more group discount opportunities offered this year to both the private and public sectors.
Increasing transit use and decreasing the daily use of vehicles, which reduces the strain on parking spaces, is all part of the city's sustainability effort, she said.
Malo said encouraging students and youth to use the city transit not only bolsters transit use. It also instills a sense of comfort with public transit, she said.
"If you are taking the transit when you are young, there is a good chance you will take it through life.”
While the Department of Education is the first stop, Malo said, there are plans to unveil more discount opportunities as the year goes by.
For instance, she explained, a group discount could be offered to a private business or the entire government based on volume, and the participation of employers.
An adult monthly pass sells for $62.
Hypothetically, Malo said, the city could offer a five-per-cent discount if a certain percentage of employees agreed to participate in the pass program.
Employers could be encouraged to match the city's five per cent, for a total discount of 10 per or $6.20, lowering the monthly pass to $55.80, she said.
Malo said she knows of one national insurance company which offers a transit package to its employees right across Canada.
Comments (7)
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Yukon AndOn on Apr 24, 2012 at 8:21 am
I can't understand why those behemoths are still careening around. Has the City even looked at the option of selling the ridiculously huge buses we have, which are NEVER more than 1/4 full, and purchasing some much smaller buses or vans? With the savings in fuel, they could increase loop/route frequencies. I believe that this is the City's best shot at increasing ridership, which would mean wasting less of our money.
As mentioned above, it is ridiculously inconvenient to ride the bus when you have any sort of schedule to adhere to. (Most people who have jobs, or attend school, or are involved in extra curricular activities need to at a certain place at a certain time... wait a second... that's most of the people who require transportation...) The reality is that very few people have an extra hour or more in their day that they are willing to give up to save some carbon or even some dough and most of us have more than one destination in mind when we set out in the morning.
I figure many of us have about three destinations to hit from the time we leave home 'til we return (not including home). If we waste 1/2 to 1 hour waiting around for a bus each time we move, or arriving at a destintion early, it's just not worth it. Time is money, after all.
Each time they redesign the transit system I find myself wondering whether "they" are a really just a bunch of manatees.
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Lloyd on Apr 24, 2012 at 6:15 am
Has anyone ridden the bus in the last decade?
I would never let my kids ride the bus until they are in their late teens and can make rational decisions about getting away from some people if required.
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Customer service on Apr 23, 2012 at 10:34 am
I think ALL of City of Whitehorse employees SHOULD take the role and take the bus for at least a couple of months before telling others to do so.
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anonymous on Apr 23, 2012 at 7:03 am
Forget free bus rides. Increase the bus schedule. Every hour to the college is ridiculous. It should be every half hour. You want people to ride the bus? Don't make it so difficult. It would also be nice if the drivers actually gave a crap if you missed your transfer.
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Jennifer Ellis on Apr 23, 2012 at 1:37 am
This is a good baby step in the right direction (though one wonders why are they focusing on a "small number of students"?)
But the City and YTG should be combining the school bus system and public transit for core areas. I lived in Switzerland and the public bus I took to work also took the kids to school.
If we combined efforts and money here, we could improve the reach and frequency of public buses, particularly at busy times.
People sometimes raise safety concerns about this approach but a pedophile could just as easily wait at a school bus stop as a public transit stop. On the bus there are always other eyes (and potentially security cameras). If other countries can do it, why can't we?
In Boulder Colorado, larger employers buy transit passes for all of their employees (at a reduced rate) which provides up front money to the transit system and free passes to all employees - and the system is well-used.
And the same employers likely charge a monthly fee for parking instead of providing acres of free parking that is regularly plowed and comes with free plug-ins.
It is unfair that many employees in Whitehorse are currently forking out money for their own bus passes while their co-workers who drive get the valuable perk of free parking.
There are many ways to improve our public transit system... but they all start with having an openness to new ideas and the political will to make transit a fundamental part of our infrastructure, not an add-on.
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north_of_60 on Apr 21, 2012 at 4:27 pm
Once again the CoW is 'penny wise and pound foolish'. To increase transit use make it free during the morning and evening 'rush hours'. Pay for that with the gas tax rebate the city gets, instead of squandering the rebate on silly studies and useless projects that don't improve public transit.
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Government Employee on Apr 20, 2012 at 9:49 am
I am torn between applauding the city or laughing......for a savings of 6.20 per month, which equals 31 cents a day, I'll keep driving my car to work. That's based on working an average of 20 days a month. Combine this with the lousy bus schedules, it's not worth it to me. If the city wants to encourage public transit, make it user friendly.