Food Center urges Stratford to give free bus passes to residents on social supports

An advocacy group with the Local Community Food Center has asked the City of Stratford to offer free bus passes to residents who rely on social assistance.

At Tuesday’s social services subcommittee meeting, Karen Wood, a member of the Local’s advocacy working group, Empowering People In Communities (EPIC), discussed the social and economic benefits the city and its most vulnerable residents might see if public transit is made free for those on Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program.

“It is crucial to emphasize the importance of affordable transportation when it comes to meeting basic needs, especially in terms of accessing sufficient, safe, nutritious and culturally diverse food – something we at EPIC and the Local consider a basic human right,” Wood said . “By providing free public transportation passes, we can ensure that individuals facing income barriers have increased opportunities and dignified options to nourish themselves and their families regardless of their financial circumstances.”

According to a non-scientific survey of 75 local residents, 68 per cent of respondents would use public transit more frequently if it was more affordable, 80 per cent would use transit more frequently to access grocery stores, farmers markets, food banks and community meals , 63 per cent said free public transit would reduce their sense of isolation, and 67 per cent believed it would have a positive impact on their mental health.

Wood also noted that free bus passes could promote public transit as a more environmentally friendly alternative to personal vehicles, promote increased participation in community programs and services, improve access to job opportunities and increase workforce participation for those who otherwise don’t have access to regular transportation.

“We can empower (disability support) and (Ontario Works) recipients to access employment and education, contributing to their economic stability and reducing reliance on social-assistance programs in the long run,” Wood said.

Stratford social services director Kim McElroy said Tuesday residents on social assistance programs who meet specific criteria, including employment-related activity and medical transportation, can already receive free or subsidized access to local public transit, whether that’s city transit or the regional PC Connect bus service .

McElroy said the social services department provides bus passes to partner agencies like the Local to help encourage attendance at community programs while also offering bus passes to low-income families at a reduced rate. Bus passes can also be obtained for children so they can access recreational programming, she added.

Stratford’s manager of Ontario Works, Alex Burgess, noted that Ontario Works has begun offering some benefits for stability support activities, which means bus passes can now be provided for general participation in the community.

“So if someone is working with their case worker, they can request it directly from their case worker as well, but that would speak only to Ontario Works recipients. It wouldn’t speak to (disability support recipients), and it’s not going to cover everyone,” Burgess said.

Despite these existing supports, subcommittee chair Coun. Taylor Briscoe said there seems to be gaps in the system, especially for those on disability.

But at a cost of $60 per month for the affordable transit pass, Stratford could see the city lose out on more than $1.5 million in revenue if it provided free passes to each of the 2,168 residents who rely on social support programs.

“That would be if everyone got a pass,” Briscoe said. “Maybe if there was an opt-in system, that would greatly reduce the cost.”

Derek Barnes, the Local’s community engagement facilitator, said the cost of the affordable transit pass was still out of reach for many accessing social services.

“From our experience talking to advocates and community members who use our services, it’s not realistic right now to expect someone who needs public transportation to be able to find that $60. It’s just not available to a lot of people that we encounter,” he said.

The subcommittee has referred the Local’s request to city staff to prepare a report on the costs and benefits of providing free bus passes to residents on social supports. This report will also look at the existing programs and consider a potential public-education campaign to spread awareness of these supports.

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