Low-income bus pass applications now being accepted by Halifax Transit

Halifax Transit is now accepting applications for it’s low income bus pass pilot program.

Successful participants will be able to buy monthly transit passes for half price.

To be eligible, you must be a resident of Halifax Regional Municipality and have a combined gross annual household income of less than $33,000. You cannot apply if you get transit costs covered by another agency, including the the Department of Community Services Employment Support and Income Assistance Program.

The first phase of the pilot program will run six months, from September of this year to February 2017.

The pilot program was approved by Regional Council in June, with the objective of making transit in the city more affordable for low income residents.

Applications for the 500 passes will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications can be made online here, or in person at one of the following municipal Citizen Contact Centres:

• Acadia Centre, Lower Sackville
• Alderney Gate, Dartmouth
• Bayers Road Centre, Halifax
• Scotia Square, Halifax

In May, Patricia Huges with Halifax Transit said they didn’t know how many people in the municipality might be eligible for the program.

“It’s hard to get an exact number. We do know that as of a few years ago, there was about 34,000 that would have met the Stats Canada low-income cut off, which is a slightly different metric. We do anticipate it would be around that number today,” Hughes said.

“There are more than 7,000 that do receive a transportation subsidy from the province that wouldn’t be eligible, so certainly somewhere around 25,000 would be a good estimate.”

Halifax council will re-evaluate the pilot program after the six-month pilot project is over.