City committee to revisit subsidized seniors bus pass

Discounted bus passes for seniors will be revisited during next year’s budget process, after the issue resurfaced at a meeting of London’s civic works committee Tuesday night.

At the start of the year, the London Transit Commission replaced its subsidized bus pass for seniors with a new income-related program for anyone over 18.

But the old system — which didn’t require people to disclose their income — has been missed.

“Bus tickets for seniors was something I heard multiple times on the campaign trail,” said Ward 2 Coun. Shawn Lewis.

“It’s something people have emailed me about as early as this week. Seniors may not see the value of a bus pass, they may not ride the bus that often, but the tickets and the discount on those tickets for the occasional trip they need, were very valuable.”

Though the committee voted to discuss the issue at length in the future, it did warrant some discussion Tuesday with Ward 12 Coun. Elizabeth Peloza warning against age discrimination.

“I understand people not wanting to reveal if there’s a poverty issue, but we’re making one section of the public reveal it while another section — based simply on age — isn’t forced to. And I do believe it’s discrimination based on age.”

Ward 6 Coun. Phil Squire said the city contributed $500,000 a year to the old subsidized bus pass program.

Under the current program, all Londoners below the low-income cut off are eligible for a pass which costs $52 per month. A standard Citipass costs $81 per month, and five tickets cost $9.50. The cut-off figures can be found here.