Whereas the provincial government changed the benefit for persons with disabilities in February 2016 by replacing the 45 per year bus pass with a 52 per month bus pass; And whereas 70 of the announced increased benefit entitlement of 77 per month would be required to cover the increased cost of the bus pass, leaving the disability bus pass users with only 25 per month in additional funding, which has not been increased for nine years: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM call on the provincial government to: -reinstate the 45 per year bus pass for persons with disabilities; -eliminate the 52 per month bus pass fees; and -raise the Persons with Disability Benefit to 1,200 per month.2017-B49,
Ministry of Social Development Poverty Reduction Beginning January 1, 2018, annual bus passes will be available to people on disability assistance through a new transportation supplement. People who have the Persons with Disabilities PWD designation can use the new supplement for an annual bus pass or for other transportation needs, such as HandyDART. People can apply for the BC Bus Pass at any time during the year. The BC Bus Pass can be used in both TransLink and BC Transit areas. They can also cancel their bus pass at any time and use the supplement for other transportation costs. The transportation supplement is 52 per month and will be on monthly assistance payments, starting with the December 20, 2017, payment. It is expected to cost government approximately 70 million annually. The new supplement responds to requests from the disability community to fix changes that were made to transportation supports for people on disability assistance. Government committed to addressing their concerns and consulted with stakeholders on the best approach. One of the first actions of this government was to increase the support rates for people receiving assistance by 100 per month, effective October 1, 2017. This increase is a first step towards reducing poverty in British Columbia. The Ministry looks forward to engaging with local governments in the creation of a BC Poverty Reduction Strategy with legislated targets and timelines.