Council to discuss pilot project for high school bus pass program
A motion going to city council Tuesday could be the first step in approving a pilot project that would approve bus passes for students in grade nine at Clarke Road Secondary school.
Ward 2 Coun. Shawn Lewis is the author of the motion, along with Ward 3 Coun. Peter Cuddy. Lewis said this conversation started before the COVID-19 pandemic with then Coun. Phil Squire.
“Councillor Cuddy, who was a school board trustee at the time, was part of that conversation now that he's been elected. He and I have carried forward. We've had some discussion with the Thames Valley District School Board with both trustees and administration,” he said.
The Thames Valley District School Board of Trustees began examining what a pilot project would look like in 2023.
“What we looked at was Clark Road Secondary School and to do a pilot project so that we can gather data to look at how successful a program could be and if it is successful, then we would hope that the project could expand,” Thames Valley District School Board of Trustee Chair Beth Mai said.
The idea is to give bus passes to grade nine students at Clarke Road Secondary in the fall of 2024, and then expand that to grade nine and 10 in 2025 to gain data as to how effective the project could be if rolled out city wide.
Mai said similar projects done in other cities have shown great success.
“Increased autonomy for students, increasing independence for young people, allowing them to be able to get to extracurricular activities that are before and after school, looking at getting to volunteer opportunities or part time jobs,” she explained.
The passes are similar to Western University and Fanshawe College students who receive one as part of their tuition, however the cost of this initial project would not fall on families.
“In the long run, if ridership increases, then we get more gas tax back from the federal government to fund transit. So we may have to put some money upfront, but if it's successful, we may be able to get sources of funding from other levels of government to continue this," said Lewis.
If the pilot is successful, the city and school board will look to roll it out to the rest of the city in a phased approach.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Conservatives push motion calling for Carney to testify, say it's about 'accountability'
The federal Conservatives made good on their promise to push for former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney to testify before MPs, resulting in a heated political debate in Ottawa on Tuesday.
Freeland previews omnibus budget bill, proposed capital gains tax change left out
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
London Drugs stores remain closed, 'cybersecurity incident' may have breached personal data
London Drugs says it is working with third-party security experts as the company tries to reopen dozens of stores across Western Canada that were shuttered by a cybersecurity incident Sunday.
McGill requests 'police assistance' over pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University says it has 'requested police assistance' about the pro-Palestinian encampment on its lower field.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.