Burlington's Budget Committee on-board with free transit for seniors and SPLIT users

Changes are coming for Burlington Transit riders with the City's budget committee carrying a motion to bring free transit to seniors and those who qualify for the SPLIT program. Burlington City Council will vote to approve the motion at the March 25 meeting.The motion was part of the city’s proposed 2019 operating budget discussions at the Committee of the Whole (COW) - Budget meeting on Thursday, Feb. 28,  and included:

• Provide free transit for adults 65 years of age and older between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on weekdays starting in June 2019 as a pilot;
• Provide free monthly passes on PRESTO for Burlington residents who qualify for the Subsidized Passes for Low Income Transit (SPLIT) program;
• Burlington Transit will work with Halton Region on ways to improve the Subsidized Passes for Low Income Transit program;
• Burlington Transit will work with school boards to develop a fare strategy for students;
• Burlington Transit will create a working group comprising of one Member of Council, members of the public and Burlington Transit Staff.

Next step: Details of these new initiatives will be communicated to residents after the approval of the 2019 operating budget.MY VIEW: The singular, big dot we're trying to get to in our city is moving towards increasing ridership on our Burlington Transit buses. Fares can act as a barrier to that. I want to eliminate as many barriers as possible to get more folks comfortable with using our local transit system and free transit does that.