Bus pass program expands to some students at Catholic schools

A popular bus-pass partnership between Sault Transit and Algoma District School Board is about to expand to include some Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board (HSCDSB) students.

An agreement has been reached to allow students in HSCDSB multi-lingual learning and independent living skills classes to participate in the Pass to Knowledge Program.

"The goal of the pilot is to educate more students on how to use transit safely and have more students become regular users," says Brent Lamming, the city's director of community services.

"Whether it be to sporting events, work or social outings, city transit is a valuable resource that will get students around the city safely, allow them to experience all that the city has to offer them and it can create opportunities that were not previously available," Lamming says in a report to Mayor Matthew Shoemaker and city councillors, who are expected to approve the one-year HSCDSB project on Monday.

"The city has been advised that lack of transportation has been an issue with a number of students and their families getting out into the community, whether it be for sporting events, shopping, movies, the pool or even getting to school. City transit is a solution to this problem," Lamming adds.

City councillors will be advised Monday that a similar pilot with Algoma District School Board students demonstrated these benefits:

• it provided clear education to students with a goal of alleviating fears associated with taking public transit
• provides a better understanding of the routes first-hand by transit staff (timing, transfer options, route selection etc.)
• informs parents of who the students would come in contact with on the bus, addressing previous biases that Sault Transit has encountered 
• a bus is brought right to the school to allow students to learn first-hand how to use transit to make them as comfortable as possible with city buses
• tours are provided of the bus bay tours to see the city bus get cleaned and other areas of interest to students
• the pilot also allows students to work on their social skills while they interact with transit representatives
• destination rides for hands-on experience for students to plan and execute an outing, mapping the bus route using skills they have learned

Monday's city council meeting will be live-streamed on SooToday starting at 4:30 p.m.