#freepublictransit for youth "shouldn't even be a debate"

This shouldn't even be a debate. #Nanaimo maintains roads for $Millions/year that cars use for free. We allow parking on the sides of our roads for free. Imagine the outcry if we instituted a fee of $5/car to drive on the roads each day just like we do for people using transit. https://t.co/F5KYLB3Fki

— Don Bonner (@donbonner) February 27, 2020

#freepublictransit would make healthcare provision much easier for old and poor

Maintenance of fares is maintenance of inequality in public transit access, and access to public life.
Social isolation is as dangerous as smoking and affects many, especially older adults.
I hope very much that some of these issues will be raised in the next installments.
Has the author of this piece ever watched a medical problem of a client living in poverty worsen, endangering the person's life, because they lack access to transportation?
I have, as an outreach worker in Victoria.
I've had the painful job of distributing limited bus tickets to people in Victoria living in extreme poverty. It's horrifying.
When we say that something costs the healthcare system money, we're usually saying that it violently harms those in society with the least power.
I agree that we need to be realistic about the costs of creating equity in transit, as we do when we work for equitable access to healthcare and all other resources.
The transportation is what gets people to those other resources.
I just hope that those of us who are privileged enough to be able to take transit have some respect for what it actually means to lack that access when we discuss this issue.
Isolation from community, opportunities, healthcare, and often safety from dangers of other options.
I'm very lucky to have a Vancouver transit pass right now because I'm in university, but a few years back I was struggling financially after a BSc and was dealing with health issues. I was too poor to take the bus often, and biked when I wasn't really well enough to.
It was a very sad and difficult feeling to have to bike in all weather while I was sick because I didn't have much money. On one of the days during this period I had a near miss of a very serious accident with a truck, in which I could have died or been seriously injured.
It's very possible that all of this will be discussed in future installments.
But just in case, I wanted to remind us all what it means to put off finding these "major new taxpayer funds".
Other taxpayer funds, and very real suffering in our communities, are on the line.

https://twitter.com/lizoftheisland/status/1236469335578705920 

BC giving tons of money to fossil fuels, but stingy toward school students

Emma-Jane Burian, a student from the West Shore region, said she's "incredibly disappointed" with the vote because she understands "the implications of how hard it is to get to other places" in the area.

She said offering free transit to youth would help those families with lower income who live on the region's outskirts, and would also reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/victoria-transit-commission-votes-down-225119932.html 

BC Ecosocialists challenge Greens and NDP

"As a political party seeking to gain representation in the BC legislature, the Ecosocialists commit to challenging every one of the forty-three Green and NDP members of the legislature who are keeping this government in power, a government that, through its Solicitor-General, has directed the invasion and militarization of Wet’suwet’en territory. This is our responsibility as settler allies of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs and as stewards of a planet whose climate is imperiled by the LNG megaproject that the pipeline fuels. Our solidarity is not just with the Wet’suwet’en but with the children and youth of the world who have been leading actions for the climate on every continent."

https://press.bcecosocialists.ca/wetsuweten 

Climate Justice Victoria is demanding free transit for all under 19 years old

Climate Justice Victoria is demanding free transit for all youth. 

During a Victoria Regional Transit Commission meeting on Feb. 25 the group plans to ask the commission to “prioritize climate action and social equity” by eliminating fares for youth 18 years old and younger travelling on regional public transit.

https://www.vicnews.com/news/climate-group-demands-free-transit-for-all-crd-youth/ 

BC Ecosocialists call for #freepublictransit

@BCEcosocialists

Let's make public transit fare-free for all youth in our region -- Free Transit Victoria

https://www.climatejusticevictoria.ca/youth-transit-pass

Start building expanded, zero-emission, fare-free transit!

The City of Victoria’s Youth Bus Program is a big success! 2,100 youth have used the program already. Families save money, and fewer car trips mean lower CO2 emissions.
But last summer four Transit Commissioners voted against making public transit fare-free for all youth in our region:

• Saanich Mayor Fred Haynes
• Saanich Councillor Susan Brice
• Sooke Mayor Maja Tait
• Colwood Mayor Rob Martin

Benefits of #freepublictransit -- less dementia

Researchers at the University of B.C. have found a link between living near highways and an increased risk of several major neurological disorders, including dementia and Parkinson’s disease.

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/ubc-study-links-living-near-highways-to-risk-of-neurological-disorders 

Victoria City Councillor calls for activism to achieve #freepublictransit

I encourage everyone who supports this progressive, climate-friendly policy to work with your neighbours, classmates, co-workers and the Free Transit Victoria coalition to demand that the Victoria Regional Transit Commission, with support from the Government of British Columbia, move forward without delay with fare-free public transit for all young people in the capital region — as a first step toward universal access to mobility for everyone.

https://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/op-ed/comment-we-need-people-power-to-expand-fare-free-public-transit-for-youth-1.24047205?