Transit Commission

BE IT RESOLVED THAT The Transit Commission approve the addition of this item for consideration by the commission at today’s meeting pursuant to subsection 89(3) of the Procedure By-Law (2014-441), for the purpose of discussion by the Commission to the information contained in the inquiry response.

WHEREAS some citizens in Ottawa spend the majority of their income on food and shelter in that they live below the Low Income Cut-off (LICO) after tax, as defined by Statistics Canada, AND WHEREAS such citizens are often either entirely reliant on public transit or public transit is a luxury that such citizens cannot afford, AND WHEREAS mobility is an enabler for economic prosperity, AND WHEREAS two of the city’s goals are to foster economic development and social well-being, AND WHEREAS the provision of social services is the responsibility of, and requires support from, all three level of Government; AND WHEREAS the Province of Ontario provides only time-limited transportation funding for citizens who live below the LICO after tax through the Ontario Works Program; AND WHEREAS the existing seniors’ monthly pass and Community Pass currently provides a 62 per cent discount over the cost of a regular monthly pass; AND WHEREAS the cost of providing a similar discount to OC Transpo customers who are below the LICO after tax who do not already receive transportation funding through the Ontario Works Program would be $3.3 million dollar per year, BE IT RESOLVED that the Transit Commission recommends City Council, on behalf of the City of Ottawa, make a request to the Government of Ontario to fund, on an annual basis and indexed to inflation, the provision of a low income transit pass. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Ottawa approach the province of Ontario to determine how

WHEREAS affordable transit is a fundamental pre-condition to the participation by all residents in the economic and social life of this city; and, WHEREAS the full-priced bus pass is a significant barrier to full participation by households that fall below the Low Income Cut-off (LICO) after tax; and, WHEREAS thousands of residents have voiced their support for a low-income bus pass; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED any future fare table developed for consideration by Council include options for low-income transit pass for residents falling below the LICO after tax at some level of subsidy between 25-60%.

WHERE AS Document 4 – Discretionary Spending circulated with the agenda contained errors and a revised Document 4 was circulated to the Transit Commission on Friday May 6, 2016; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT The Transit Commission approve the revised Document 4 - Discretionary Spending.