Fair fares 2008

Joining together in 2004 under the name “Fair Fares,” Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC) and the Calgary Committee for Discounted Transit Passes launched a concerted effort to convince City staff, aldermen and Calgary Transit officials of the importance of reduced fare passes [Makhoul 2005]. [...] The City of Calgary decided to establish the passes for AISH recipients in 2005 and then extended the program in 2006 to low-income residents. [...] Says Interim VCC Director Connie Johnson: “Though the City and community groups had long tried to get the province to provide more support for such a program, the City decided to go it alone and we are grateful for that commitment.” Caledon Institute of Social Policy. [...] In addition to the work being done to assist people in financial difficulty, a group of Calgary employers began meeting with VCC and Calgary Transit to establish corporate passes as a means of attracting and retaining new staff. [...] Over the summer of 2007, the Fair Fares Action Team spent time preparing for the City’s upcoming decision to continue the pilot program, make it a permanent expenditure or shelve it altogether.