Free youth transit in Brandon set to begin Sept. 1

Free public transit for passengers aged six to 17 will launch on Sept. 1, after Brandon city council adopted the provincial initiative during Monday night’s regular meeting.

The decision to roll out free transit for youth comes after the NDP budget allocated $10 million to launch the program in five cities across the province with transit systems.

The City of Brandon can receive up to $1 million to reimburse lost fare revenue from September 2026 until August 2027.

Under the program, students will be required to show proof of age on transit with bus passes that will be administered through the Brandon School Division.

BSD Supt. Jon Zilkey confirmed on Tuesday that information outlining the transit program will be sent to parents and guardians of students in Grades 1-12 in early September before classes begin.

“We anticipate there may be a few bumps along the way as this is a new program, but we expect that any BSD student who wants a bus pass and has the required permission will be able to receive one,” Zilkey said in an email statement.

Sustainable Brandon, which appeared before council at Monday’s meeting, praised the initiative.

“We’re really happy to see the government is moving in that direction, and we’re very happy to see that city council was in favour of ratifying that,” Kat Hunkin, who spearheads the local non-profit’s transit team, said Tuesday.

“We’re very much in favour of any kind of initiative that will get people out of vehicles and onto public transit or using active transports,” Hunkin said. “One of the big drivers of climate change, and one of the largest sources of emissions, is vehicles.”

She said the organization hopes the program will encourage more long-term ridership.

“We’re building that capacity to have people consider transit and consider sustainable transportation as a valid option, because here in Brandon, traditionally, it really hasn’t been.”

In 2025, $116,000 in fare revenue came from roughly 73,000 youth riders, Greg Brown, the city’s acting director of transportation services, told council Monday night.

The department anticipates “a significant increase in youth ridership once fares are removed, ” according to a staff report submitted to council prior to the meeting.

Brown explained that more buses could be added to existing routes with the provincial funding if youth transit users increase.

Several councillors inquired about the provincial money and asked if the million dollars could be used to improve the transit system, but the money is a reimbursement and can’t be used in advance, Brown said.

The city only has access to money youth would have spent on transit fares — meaning the more youth riders, the more money the city will receive from the province, capped at $1 million.

The previous province-supported transit funding was the 50-50 model, which was scrapped by the Progressive Conservative government in 2017. Hunkin says she’d like to see the province return to that model.

“We’re really hoping to get that in the budget by next year,” Hunkin said. “We would love it if more people were riding the bus.”

Students who are not in the Brandon School Division will be able to pick up a pass from an info booth downtown, Brown said during the council meeting. He added that the city is currently “deploying” 10,000 passes.

Mayor Jeff Fawcett said the program will be a “significant enhancement” to transit.

“(It’s) giving young people the experience to use transit efficiently,” Fawcett said during Monday’s meeting.

“And it doesn’t just have to be for school,” he laughed.

Children five and under will continue to ride for free when accompanied by a paying adult.

» rgerrard@brandonsun.com