Halifax seniors get free bus rides on Tuesdays
Halifax transit launches 3-month pilot project
CBC News
Posted: Sep 4, 2012 10:00 AM AT
Last Updated: Sep 4, 2012 7:20 PM AT
Halifax Metro Transit is offering free rides to people over 65 on Tuesdays as part of a three-month pilot project.
Seniors can travel free of charge from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and then again after 6 p.m.
Metro Transit said seniors should bring ID, because the operator may ask for proof of age.
The pilot project imitates similar programs in Moncton and other Canadian cities.
Tiffany Chase, spokeswoman for Halifax Regional Municipality, says in Moncton, free rides on Tuesdays triggered a 36-per cent drop in sales of monthly seniors' bus passes.
"We based our ridership on Moncton's ridership and their experience offering a similar program. They have a much smaller system than we do, so we extrapolated some of the numbers," Chase said.
"But we had projected that for the three months it could be up to $50,000 in reduction of revenue, but that is high level and we won't have a chance to know what the actual financial impact is until we see how it goes here in Halifax."
Chase says Metro Transit staff will provide that information when council decides whether to extend the program.
The Tuesday free rides offer is good for buses and ferries.
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