Double deck BC Transit buses make their way towards downtown Victoria as they travel down the Old Island Highway in Colwood during the morning rush hour.
Coun. Ben Isitt, who introduced the motion that was passed Thursday by council, said it would begin with the elimination of fares for youth under 19 next year and the broader community would be phased in.Isitt said there's almost no more space in the city for expanding roads or parking. Similar policies have been adopted in jurisdictions like Luxembourg and Estonia's capital city Tallinn.Other places offer free fare for certain demographics or in geographic areas, like Madison, Wis., where fare is free in the city's core.
"The idea of free public transport has been talked about in many cities," he said."What many public transport systems are trying to do is increase people's accessibility."It can be an unpopular policy for municipalities that expect to recover operating costs. Aside from some exceptions like megacities in Asia, Casello said few public transit systems actually break even so every dollar counts.