Many seniors miss discounted bus tickets, councillors say

Councillorson the city's civic works committee have voted to take a second look at aprogram started earlier this year that offers discounted monthly bus passes based on income, not age.

On Jan. 1, London switched its system to offerdiscounted monthly bus passes to low-income earners, regardless of age.

The move meant an elimination of discounted monthly bus passes for seniors and the end of discounted single-ride tickets that saved about 45 cents a trip. For those who qualified,the cost of a monthly pass droppedfrom $81 to $52.

Coun. Michael Van Holst saidmany seniors miss having the break on single-ride tickets.He saidit was an issue voters frequently raised with himon the campaign trail.

"It came up often enough that I realized that it was a course correction we needed to make sooner rather than later," he said. "Many people don't need to ride the bus at the frequency that a bus pass is worthwhile."

Coun. Shawn Lewis said he's also hearing from seniors who don't like the change.

"It's something that people have emailed me about," he said. "Seniors may not see the value in a monthly bus pass but the tickets and the discounts on them for the occasional trip were very valuable."

Another unpopular aspect of the new system: Applying for the discount requires proof of low income.

"A lot of people don't want to share that with the city," said Van Holst.

Civic works voted to refer the matter to the city's budget process, which gets underway next week.