Bus pass benefits all

The Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) launched its new affordable bus pass program this week. Hamilton joins Waterloo and Calgary as Canadian cities with such programs.

By Lee Prokaska, Last Updated Monday, March 17, 2008

(Published in the Hamilton Spectator on March 6, 2008.)

We know there is no magic pill that will cure poverty in our city - or anywhere else for that matter.

It's the impact of the small steps, the incremental improvements, the strategic and focused projects that will help our community get at the roots of poverty.

It's important to celebrate these small steps because it encourages other steps that contribute to the bigger picture of progress.

That's why it's encouraging to see the city making strategic use of taxpayers' resources in a way that will actually help people work toward better lives for themselves and their families.

The Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) launched its new affordable bus pass program this week. Hamilton joins Waterloo and Calgary as Canadian cities with such programs.

The pilot program is very specific in its scope and its client base. It is for the working poor - those who have jobs, but whose income falls below the Statistics Canada low-income cut-off. Twelve hundred half-price passes will be sold each month on a first-come, first-served basis. Once approved, residents are eligible for six months of discounted passes.

A regular adult monthly bus pass costs $79, up by $8 over last year. A half-price bus pass frees up almost $40 a month. Certainly for the bulk of Hamilton residents, an additional $10 a week would not be a make-or-break proposition. But for many of the estimated 25,000 working poor in this city, that $10 a week could make a difference in covering the rent or feeding the kids or putting clothes on their backs. Ten bucks a week that you don't have to spend getting yourself to and from work makes going to work that much more cost-effective for those coping with dire financial straits.

There will be complaints about the restrictions on this pilot program. It's not open to students or seniors, though they are eligible for other discount programs. Residents on welfare or disability also don't qualify. But that's part of the point of this effort. It is -- we believe wisely -- a narrowly targeted program aimed at helping people get to their workplaces and keep their jobs so they can help themselves. It's an excellent example of the unique ability of local government to address real issues at ground level.

Making our public transit system more accessible is crucial to the future of both our city and the hub of southern Ontario, where gridlock is a way of life for so many commuters.

In general, finding ways to encourage people to leave cars in the driveway will improve quality of life from the Golden Horseshoe to Durham Region.

It's encouraging, for example, to see Statistics Canada reporting a drop, albeit a small one, in the proportion of workers driving to work between 2001 and 2006.

Investments in our public transit system, including affordable bus pass programs such as Hamilton's, benefit all of us.