Vernon is getting on board with an initiative to eliminate city bus fares for students.
Grade 10 Clarence Fulton Secondary students Haylee Andal and Jade Ha presented to council on Monday, May 13 a Transit For Teens campaign to give free transit to youth aged 13-18 in the city.
含羞草研究社淲hat we are asking council is to write a letter of support for free transit for B.C. teens and to invest in a better transit system in Vernon,含羞草研究社� said Andal and Ha of the province-wide campaign that has been localized to Vernon.
Currently, fares are free for kids aged 12 and under. This campaign is aiming to make it free for youths aged 18 and under.
Part of the presentation was the survey report of over 285 Vernon students, parents, and teachers regarding their opinions of local transit in Vernon. Among some of the results, 38 per cent stated that they currently do not take the bus, but if busing was free, then 89 per cent of respondents would take public transit.
The presentation and survey are part of school projects the students are doing for the School District含羞草研究社檚 Climate Action Ripple Effect (CARE) project.
According to the students, the cost of a one-way bus fare from the East Hill area in Vernon to their school, Fulton Secondary, is $2.50.
The teens had already presented to MLA Harwinder Sandhu and will be presenting to delegates from School District 22 on Wednesday, May 15. They also asked council to invest more in the transit system, so that the buses 含羞草研究社渞un more frequent, run later, be more on time, and reach more areas of the community.含羞草研究社�
Coun. Kelly Fehr thanked the two students for presenting.
含羞草研究社淭he cost for larger cities would be significant,含羞草研究社� said Fehr. 含羞草研究社淚 don含羞草研究社檛 think the costs would be too much here. We don含羞草研究社檛 make decisions the day of typically, but I want to thank you for coming here.含羞草研究社�
Coun. Kari Gares echoed most of what Fehr stated, saying that, 含羞草研究社淚t isn含羞草研究社檛 necessarily an easy battle, but we can definitely put our support behind it.含羞草研究社�
Coun. Brian Guy also thanked the students, then made a motion to send the presentation to the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM), which will take place in September. The presentation was received for information and Guy含羞草研究社檚 motion passed.
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