Update: September 2024

What Did We Ask?

The City of Saskatoon engaged with community partners, schools, parents, caregivers, and others on the elimination of child fares for Saskatoon Transit. 

Engagement activities included: 

• Jurisdictional scan with other transit agencies managed by the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) and summary of the experience from the City of Regina Transit
• Meetings and a survey for elementary school administration
• Information session and a survey for Saskatoon Transit employee groups and meetings with ATU Local 615 executive
• Submission from Bus Riders of Saskatoon with their recommendations
• Facilitated information sessions and a survey for community groups
• Online public survey for riders, residents, families and the City of Saskatoon’s Citizens Advisory Panel

What we Learnt

The Saskatoon Transit - Implementing Free Child Fare "What We Heard" Report is now available.  The report summarizes the feedback gathered through meetings, information sessions and public surveys. 

Results

On June 26, 2024, City Council adopted the following: 

1. That the Administration be directed to pursue Option 1A Children in Grade 8 and under ride free;
2. That the Administration be directed to pursue Option 2A Children self-verify to ride free;
3. That the City Solicitor be directed to make the necessary amendments to The Transit Fares Bylaw, 2004, as outlined in the Standing Policy Committee on Transportation from June 4, 2024 report; and
4. That the Administration provide a report back after one year of the implementation of the free child fare program.

Effective September 1, 2024, children in grade 8 and under ride Saskatoon Transit and Access Transit for free. 

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Why Are We Doing This Work?

Starting September 2024, Saskatoon Transit will provide free child fare on fixed-route buses and Access Transit. We need your valuable insight to design a program that makes Saskatoon Transit more accessible and affordable for families and individuals in our community. 

Many Canadian transit agencies now provide free fares for elementary-school-aged children, including the City of Regina (Fall 2022). In November 2023, the Governance and Priorities Committee (GPC) resolved that the implementation of fare elimination for children be considered effective for September 2024. The current transit fare for children between the ages of five and 13 is $2.25.  

The elimination of child fares is also part of the broader fare review, planned to be completed as a part of the City's Universal Low-Income Subsidy (ULIS) project, and in conjunction with the launch of the upcoming Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system.