John Hopkins-Hill
Peculiar Ponderings
Fear not people of Hinton, because town council is working hard to ensure the financial viability of the transit system.
Council voted not to give free monthly passes to CNIB cardholders. This exercise in fiscal restraint and responsible government could save the town up to $8,400 in potential revenue.
You read that right, there are 10 cardholders in Hin- ton and assuming they all bought bus passes every month at the full rate of $70, it would bring in $8,400 every year for the town.
But that seems unlikely to happen.
Anyone under age six, cardholder or not, is enti- tled to ride the bus all they want for free. And anyone over 65 is entitled to a discounted rate - $50 for three months instead of the customary $70 per month.
So really, CNIB cardholders only have to pay full price for bus passes for 59 years in this community.
Council didn’t want to open up a Pandora’s Box of free transit passes. If it’s people with vision impair- ment today, why not people with paralysis tomorrow? Or people with epilepsy?
It’s a slippery slope indeed; soon dozens of citizens otherwise unable to get around could be traveling Hin- ton safely at no out of pocket cost.
Economic need, they said, will be the new threshold. Only those really in need will get assistance with tran- sit passes.
Councillor Ryan Maguhn asked at the council meet- ing on Aug. 15 if there was a will to scrap the senior discount. That question was met with crickets.
He had previously asked the same question at a May standing committee meeting, where another council- lor explained that seniors with money drove places and only those in need utilized the bus.
What was to stop, he said, a rich person with vision impairment from exploiting the system?
Well the bad news for council is the numbers flat out don’t back this up. Just over 12 per cent of seniors are considered low income in Alberta, while over half of Canada’s population of people with vision impairment make less than $20,000 per year.
With an election so close, it’s disheartening to see a council willing to protect transit discounts for a large section of the population that arguably don’t need it while simultaneously denying help for a group that demonstrably meets any criteria – moral, physical or economic – you want to put on the topic.
There are groups in town giving out free passes already, said council. True, but there simply aren’t enough to go around. Groups like the food bank and FCSS give out passes to clients but administration stated in May that they are frequently asked by these groups for more passes; there aren’t enough passes to
meet demand as is.
Oh, and for clarity, the passes these groups obtain
aren’t donated by the town; the groups purchase them at a discounted rate and then distribute them to those in need.
Human beings are not meant to live in isolation, and affordable transit helps mitigate that. If people cannot get around, they become separated from society. They stop interacting with others, they lose their independ- ence and they suffer from depression.
From a numbers perspective, you can’t spend money at local businesses if you can’t get to local businesses. If those 10 people go to a local business once a week and spend $50 each time, that’s $26,000 into the local economy.
It bothers me I’m even attempting to make an eco- nomic argument.
It bothers me that this is an issue.
It bothers me that this council is so willing to stand pat.
It bothers me that this council will continue to go out and tell people how wonderful they are for not raising taxes.
Less than one dollar more per person in taxes annu- ally would offset these passes. Or simply increase cash fares that have stayed steady at their cost rate. Or increase advertising that has dropped in recent years.
Let’s hope when this topic comes back to stand- ing committee, council can see the light.