city to explore fare-free transit pilot for regina high school students
"i feel that we have a high chance of getting this done," said spokesperson kimberli kolody-watt, from better bus youth.
3 minute read
kimberli kolody-watt, the spokesperson for better bus youth, stands for a portrait outside miller comprehensive high school on thursday, january 30, 2025 in regina.
kayle neis
/
regina leader-post
as a high school student, standing up before city council to advocate for yourself and your peers is no small feat.
but that’s what 18-year-old kimberli kolody-watt did this week — and she feels it paid off.
“all of them paid attention, listened to me, saw where i was coming from as a youth advocate looking out for other youth and saw this as a great opportunity for regina to become better,” she told the leader-post after council voted wednesday to explore a fare-free transit pilot for high school students.
kolody-watt spoke to the motion at wednesday’s meeting as the spokesperson for better bus youth, which has been pressing the city of regina to adopt free transit for users under the age of 18 since 2022.
she says she felt like council finally heard and acknowledged their collective work by committing to explore the idea of a fare-free pilot.
if green-lit, the pilot would select one high school in regina to test out the free fares, with the idea of expanding citywide if proven successful.
“to see the new council and mayor say yes, it made me feel ecstatic,” said kolody-watt in an interview thursday. “i feel pretty achieved.”
better bus youth has been a strong advocate, circulating a petition that has collected 1,500 supportive signatures to date and speaking strongly in favour of the city’s move to waive transit fares for youth under 13 in 2022.
advertisement
kolody-watt said she was buoyed by the apparent enthusiasm of councillors to finally test the waters on expanding that initiative.
“i feel very hopeful, based on what was said last night. (council) wanted to look further into it, plan a strategy,” she said. “i feel that we have a high chance of getting this done.”
during discussion, shanon zachidniak (ward 8) reminded her council colleagues that accessible transit for regina youth is a strategic goal written in the transit master plan. growing transit use is also in the city’s energy & sustainability framework, a road map to achieve the city’s pledge to be net-zero by 2050.
“regardless of your personal thoughts on the value of investing in transit, the community has been loud and clear and it is embedded in our city policies to continue to explore fare-free transit,” said zachidniak, who moved the motion.
a youth bus pass with regina transit costs $600 a year or students can pay a cash fare of $2.75 per ride. kolody-watt said that can be too much for some households and results in students being late or skipping classes.
she and her two younger sisters often walk 45 minutes to school instead of taking the bus, to relieve pressure on their single-parent household’s budget.
advertisement
“this is a really, really important step, especially for students’ involvement in the community and in school,” said kolody-watt.
better bus youth founder sophia young also stressed wednesday that teens being able to use public transit without barriers means freedom and independence to get to school, work, extracurricular activities or to socialize.
“so much of what we do, the value comes from experiential learning like going out and working or volunteering, or even doing a sport,” said young. “it’s a way for youth to be involved and be an active participant in our society.”
sophia young sits for a portrait at the hampton hub on tuesday, june 7, 2022 in regina.
kayle neis
/
regina leader-post
young added that waiving fares for teens could prompt an overall boost in transit ridership across the city in the long-term. she pointed to the city of kingston, ont., which adopted free fares for students in 2012 and saw ridership increase 20-fold as a result.
regina’s own data has shown a 260-per-cent increase in overall ridership since waiving fees for youth under 13 two years ago, according to zachidniak’s motion.
“the return on investment isn’t just money. it’s on community, on outcomes, on people, on inclusion, on education and that is huge,” said coun. sarah turnbull (ward 5).
city staff are to return in early summer with a report outlining specifics on what a pilot would look like, with the goal of implementing by september.
advertisement
editor’s note: a previous version of this story incorrectly stated the cost of a yearly youth pass with regina transit and has been corrected. the leader-post regrets this error.
the regina leader-post has created an afternoon headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. click here to subscribe.
with some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark leaderpost.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. click here to subscribe.
share story
