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Bait and switch treats for those not paying attention

Provincial budget includes free transit passes for youths in Winnipeg, three other cities By: Carol Sanders Posted: 5:35 PM CDT Monday, Mar. 23, 2026 Last Modified: 10:27 AM CDT Wednesday, Mar. 25, 2026 [hazy photo of transit bus]


Manitoba's budget dropped last week.

The premier pasted that huge smile on his face and hauled out some prevaricating hyperbolisms.

One of the much touted "gifts" of the budget was free transit for youths aged 12-18 in Winnipeg.*

“We have money set aside in the budget to work with municipalities to cover the cost of transit for high school-aged youth,” a spokesperson for the province said Monday.

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2026/03/23/provincial-budget-includes-free-transit-passes-for-youths-in-winnipeg-four-other-cities 

Let's think about this.

Young people are *already* riding the bus because they aren't even allowed to have a driver's license until 16 and not everyone gets one right away or at all.

So this doesn't provide any new ridership.

And the province promises some money to cover the resulting shortfall.

We just gotta hope and trust their math/predictions are right.

So how is this a gift? It's nice for the teens and their parents but it does nothing to address the poor service caused by massive funding shortfalls caused by the previous government's cancellation of the 50/50 funding agreement between municipalities and province.

While in opposition, the NDP vociferously condemned that funding cut. While in government, the NDP have not lifted a finger to restore it. This announcement certainly does nothing.

There's one more piece to this that is disturbing.

Winnipeg has put a fair bit of money (hmm, thought we were short on that!) into policing fares. They've got transit cops riding the bus turning away people who can't pay. How is this going to affect young people, aged 12-18, who forget their ID? They're teens -- they're going to forget sometimes. And who can tell the difference between a 17-year-old and a 21 year-old just by looking? Sometimes it's clear; other times it's not.

This provides an opportunity for law enforcement to racially profile and harass people who are already vulnerable for no good reason.

This budget is not a gift: there are no "goodies" in here for us. All the "gifts" have so many strings and not-so-hidden drawbacks the net result is harm not benefit. 

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Bram Strain, president and CEO of the Manitoba Business Council and co-chair of the Premier’s Business and Jobs Council’s green committee.

“It creates a bus-riding culture for youth which, hopefully, will continue on as they move into commuting to work. It should help increase the amount of riders, which obviously adds to security — a full bus is a secure bus.”

Winnipeg Transit data shows ridership remains below 2019 pre-pandemic levels.

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2026/03/23/provincial-budget-includes-free-transit-passes-for-youths-in-winnipeg-four-other-cities

How does giving free transit to people *already riding transit* create a culture of new bus riders when the service is abysmal because it's all underfunded. If you think riding the bus is so great, Mr Strain, why don't you do it?

*(Councillor Matt Allard introduced free transit for kids under 12 -- who don't ride the bus without a fare-paying adult anyway -- once he started riding the bus with his kids and realized what a pain it was to mess with their transit passes.)

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