The Alberta government said Wednesday it will continue to fund low-income transit passes.
The province reversed course following backlash from the mayors of Calgary and Edmonton.
In a statement, Jason Nixon, the minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services, said following conversations with the mayors of Edmonton and Calgary the province will continue to fund the program.
“It is clear that the cities are not able to pay for their full programs at this time,” Nixon said. “As a result, Alberta’s government will continue to extend this funding to the cities and work with them to ensure their low-income transit program continues to be funded in the future.
“Alberta’s government understands the need to support low-income Albertans. That’s why we provide direct transit subsidies to Albertans on income support and AISH in communities across the province, including Calgary and Edmonton.”
In an interview with Global News, Alberta’s premier said she learned of the decision late Tuesday afternoon and began asking ministers and staff about why the decision was made.
“It’s one of those things where you’re making decisions, hoping you’ll be able to find additional revenues to cover off some of these programs, and on the first pass they weren’t able to do that, but I’ve asked them to take another look so that we can find the dollars to support this,” Smith said.
Smith said the Government of Alberta has a program in place where “it directly funds low-income transit passes for those who are on government program,” but also added that the province was subsiding a program that the cities of Edmonton and Calgary offer.
“Making the decision, the way it was communicated, it really caught Calgary and Edmonton off guard,” Smith added.
“They need that extra support to be able to make sure that they can provide that seamless service, so we made a reversal and then we’ll just have to have a long-term discussion about what we do with that program, if we continue to support it. But we heard the message from Calgary and Edmonton that this was going to be a pinch for them,” Smith said.
On Tuesday, the mayors of both Calgary and Edmonton issued statements addressing the issue.
One day later, Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said appreciates the reverse-course.
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“The Ride Transit Program is essential to Edmontonians, especially those who face daily challenges with affordability, mobility, and isolation. I appreciate that Minister Nixon recognizes the negative impact that defunding this program will have and is reinstating funding at last year’s level,” Mayor Sohi said in a statement to Global News.
“The City of Edmonton is proud to support this program, even though it is an example of Alberta’s big cities stepping in to fund support programs for low income Albertans that fall under provincial jurisdiction,” Sohi’s statement continued.
“This is very good news for low-income Calgarians,” said Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek. “A lot of people were incredibly concerned and in shock and so I’m incredibly grateful that those folks don’t have to worry and that the funding has been restored.”
Gondek also addressed comments about the city not being able to afford the subsidy program.
“Let’s be perfectly clear, income supports are not a municipal responsibility, that’s 100 per cent a provincial responsibility so although we do run a transit system, the income support is the job (of the) provincial government,” Gondek added. “While we’re happy to see this funding restored, we still have a $311 funding gap on all of the other pieces that we’ve picked up that have been off-loaded.”
The province has been funding low-income transit passes in both cities since 2017. Originally, Calgary and Edmonton each received $4.5 million to fund their respective programs.
In 2023, both cities received almost $6 million each to fund low-income transit passes. An additional $1.7 million was announced to start similar programs in other municipalities.
In Edmonton, over 250,000 passes were sold in 2023- an increase of around 20 per cent compared with 2019. In Calgary, the low-income transit pass program was used nearly 119,000 times from January to March this year.
“We will make sure that we end up in a spot where the cities can afford to maintain this program and that obviously needs provincial subsidy,” Nixon said, adding he intends to make the program’s funding a permanent line in the Alberta budget.
In a statement to Global News, the City of Edmonton said it has received approximately $4.5 million in annual funding from the Alberta government since 2018.
“This funding was increased to $5.8 million in 2023-24, with an expiry date of March 31, 2024. Based on today’s developments, we are currently awaiting more information about go-forward provincial funding,” said Adrienne Cloutier with the City of Edmonton.
“I walk but on days I can’t walk, I take DATS or transit,” said Azrael Wick, an AISH recipient who uses the subsidized bus pass. Wick said the pass costs her $35 a month compared to a regular monthly Edmonton Transit Service pass which cost $100.
“(This) means that I can get out more and do more programs and more activities daily,” Wick added. “If I didn’t have this (pass) I wouldn’t be able to afford any of my program. It would just cost more money, which I don’t have.”
“Yesterday’s decision by the UCP to pull funding from the Calgary and Edmonton low-income transit subsidy program was extremely cruel and Albertans were rightfully outraged by this decision,” said NDP transportation critic Lorne Dach.
“Many low-income Albertans rely on these programs to get to work, get groceries, and get to appointments. To threaten the cancellation of this program during an affordability crisis shows out out-of-touch the Smith government is with Albertans,” Dach continued.
When Global News asked for comment on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Seniors, Community and Social Services did not provide details about funding for low-income transit passes but instead shared information about other programs, adding transit is a municipal responsibility in Edmonton and Calgary. The ministry also reiterated its commitment to invest over $800 million for LRT projects in Edmonton and $600 million in Calgary.
— with files from Paula Tran, Global News.
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