BC NDP candidates Garry Begg (Surrey-Guildford) and Jinny Sims (Surrey-Panorama) announced recently that the BC NDP will be delivering free public transit for seniors in off-peak hours.
“For seniors in our community, especially those who don’t drive, it can be challenging to get to their appointments or even the grocery store,” said Begg. “At the same time, seniors have been hit hard by how expensive life has gotten. The BC NDP wants to make it easier for seniors to get where they need to go.”
If re-elected, the BC NDP will offer free transit for seniors in off-peak hours, reducing seniors’ costs, taking more cars off the road, and improving the lives of thousands of people.
The BC NDP bus pass for seniors will give them free transit during the day when they’re most in need of it and while others are at work, saving seniors around $500 a year.
“For years, John Rustad and the BC Conservatives halted new transit projects while letting car insurance prices shoot up. This hurt our parents, and elderly loved ones,” said Sims. “David Eby and the BC NDP are taking action. Free bus passes mean that seniors can get where they need to go without having to call a loved one to get them there. It means independence and choice – with no cost.”
Other platform commitments include building 300,000 affordable homes, finding a family doctor for everybody in B.C., building more hospitals, ensuring safer streets by giving police more powers to fight gangs and creating good jobs by expanding training programs.
On September 5, the BC Green Party proposed a new transit policy to make BC operate on a fare-free public transit system.
“Fast, frequent, and free public transit will shift how people move, reduce household costs, and enable a giant leap forward on meeting our climate goals,” said Sonia Furstenau, leader of the BC Green Party. The Greens have also called for “hourly services on key regional routes, a doubling of city buses within four years, and a tripling within eight years.
“We will expand routes, improve hours, get more buses on the road, and make buses a reliable and easy choice for travel across the province,” stated Furstenau. “By investing in public transit, we’re putting more money back into people’s hands [ . . . ] and building a better quality of life for everyone.”
