Canmore, Alberta, to charge for downtown parking and apply it to #freepublictransit

"Parking has never been free. It's always been a cost that has been borne by the local taxpayer: the cost of providing that infrastructure and maintaining it," he said. "With paid parking and those paid parking revenues going toward our transit fares, our visitors are helping to pay for those costs, rather than 100 per cent of them coming from local residents."
The money is earmarked for Canmore's local transit service, Roam, which is fare-free.

Borrowman hopes the parking fees might alleviate congestion — which has been an increasing problem in the Bow Valley.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/canmore-parking-1.5388552 

Edmonton, take note, this is doable

Whoa. 😲 Edmonton just turned down #FreeTransit but another sprawling is doing it. https://t.co/8VkSVTHt6n #yegTransit

— Jeff Samsonow (@jeffsamsonow) December 6, 2019

Campus Saint-Jean Council discusses #freepublictransit

Council also voted unanimously to pass the first principles on a policy regarding public transit which talks about how Indigenous and People of Colour are disproportionately targeted for fare-evasion and the idea of fare-free public transport #UASUsc pic.twitter.com/LHIfFMI20i

— Khadra.A (@khadra_ast) December 4, 2019

Blogger sharply criticizes Edmonton Executive Council for inaction on #climatejustice

You can imagine my disappointment, then, when I read in the report that the city has an opportunity to increase ridership by approximately 28% by switching to a zero-fare program, yet is not poised to take this opportunity.
...
Simply put, our obsession with single-occupancy vehicles (read: cars) is unsustainable. Beyond the urban planning nightmares it has created (not to mention the outrageously high death tolls for both riders and pedestrians which we tacitly accept in the name of convenience), low occupancy vehicles are a major source of GHG emissions. And while many point to electric vehicles as a solution to the emissions part of the equation, even EVs are problematic from a finite resources perspective.

Read the whole post: https://acornacts.ca/Transit/ 

Fares are for rationing, fines are for bullying

EDMONTON—It took 19-year-old Fouad Dahou five years to overcome homelessness, get clean off of drugs and start going back to school for social work. 

A time frame, he said, that could have been a lot shorter had the weight of his 15 transit fines (that he can remember) not been holding him back, along with the fear of getting caught again on an LRT or bus.Not having a bus ticket or pass results in a fine of $250.

https://www.thestar.com/edmonton/2019/11/20/low-income-edmontonians-speak-out-about-transit-fines-it-makes-life-really-really-hard.html 

Edmonton could lead the way in decarbonization with #freetransit

.@CJEdmonton organizer @_SaturnReturn will be at Green Drinks on Wednesday night to talk about the how free public transit could help Edmonton get to carbon neutral faster and in a more equitable way.

Pay-what-you-can tickets here: https://t.co/wasYAR8235#GreenDrinksYEG pic.twitter.com/YeSNBUxztK

— The Local Good (@localgoodYEG) November 11, 2019

Benefits of #freetransit to Edmonton

Can we talk about #freetransit in @CityofEdmonton ?
- Decongest roads
- Save $ by hiring less peace officers
- Serious cut down on emissions
- Improve city accessibility for EVERYONE
- Less road repair
- Better parking
Anything to add @doniveson @Scott_McKeen @AndrewKnack

— tarkington (@tarkingtonU) November 2, 2019