Summerland, B.C. residents getting a free ride

Summerland, B.C. residents are being offered a free ride. A bus ride, that is.

Council in the small South Okanagan town approved a year-long free fare pilot for its residents who would like to take bus route 30, which spans the distance between Summerland and Penticton, and it will launch on Earth Day.

It’s the first regional route in B.C. to offer free fares to its residents, though others have offered local routes or low-cost fare options to their residents.

“Free bus fare will keep money in people’s pockets and ensure essential services remain accessible,” Mayor Doug Holmes said in a press release.

“It reinforces the principle that mobility is a right and that transit is a public good benefiting all of society.”

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To take advantage of the free fare, Summerland residents will need to show a government-issued ID (Drivers License, BC Services card), or a student ID for those 13-18 years old (children 12 years and younger already ride free) from a Summerland school to bus drivers when using the Route 30 busses.

The free fare pilot program on Route 30 for Summerland residents follows the District’s recent appointment by Earth Day Canada as the 2023 spokesperson for the Mobilizing Municipalities Campaign.

The project will end April 22, 2024.