'Fantastic opportunity for students' as Brandon set to introduce free transit for youth

Brandon is set to become the second Manitoba city to provide free public transit for youth, starting Sept. 1.

The city is requesting funding of up to $1 million from the provincial government to offset the expected amount of lost transit revenue from September 2026 through August 2027.

"It's a fantastic opportunity for students, Grades 1 to 12," said Jon Zilkey, superintendent and CEO of the Brandon School Division.

"Sometimes barriers exist for kids to get to school, as everyone knows. So, having bus transit removes one of those barriers. We're really excited about it."

Selkirk began piloting the service in June and extended it to all students aged 12 to 21 who can show they are enrolled in a local school. The cost to provide the program in that city is estimated at $500,000.

The City of Winnipeg is expected to have the program roll out with the beginning of the new school year, a spokesperson for Winnipeg Transit said in an email to CBC News on Wednesday afternoon.

"We are working closely with the province on the final details of the program and its implementation," the spokesperson wrote. "We anticipate having more to share with operators, students and the public later this month."

The Manitoba government announced in its March budget that it intended to roll out fare-free public transit for youth aged 18 and under across fixed-route municipal transit systems — in Winnipeg, Brandon, Flin Flon, Selkirk and Winkler.

It allocated $10 million to reimburse those municipalities for the one-year pilot project.

The cost to run the program in Winnipeg for the 2026-27 school year is estimated at $16 million, a report presented to city council in June said.

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"I think it's going to be a game changer for some of our students because it's really going to remove a barrier," Zilkey said about the program for Brandon.

"That's what it's all about, is getting rid of those barriers to get our kids to school, get them in the door, and away we go. So, it's exciting."

Passes will be provided by the City of Brandon and distributed by the school division.

“We meet with principals on Aug. 31 and … we'll get the [passes] distributed to schools, hopefully before Sept. 8," Zilkey said.

Classes for the new school year don't start until after the Labour Day long weekend, on Sept. 9.

“We'll get the permission slips [from parents], and those kids will get the passes. And those passes are good not just for going to school — those passes are good for seven days a week," Zilkey said.

Greg Brown, acting director of transportation for the City of Brandon, says about $118,000 in revenue was generated from about 73,000 youth riders last year.

He anticipates the number of youth riders will increase with the new program, and not only in the short term.

WATCH | Free bus use for Brandon students starts Sept. 1:

"We anticipate that it'll continue to grow. and that's a good thing. That's because the earlier we can train the community to ride the bus, the greater the likelihood that we're going to have lifelong transit users," Brown said.

However, the program isn't without risk, he said.

"There is the risk that the funding could be cancelled," Brown said.

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"We don't have a multi-year agreement. It is a funding agreement for this year. I suspect if all goes well, we'll have a multi-year agreement after that."

Kat Hunkin of Sustainable Brandon, a climate-focused non-profit organization, says the program is a "huge win" for climate and affordability.

"The biggest thing that we're looking at in terms of sustainability moving forward is lowering our climate emissions, and we know that vehicles are one of the highest emission sources in Manitoba," Hunkin said.

"It's a lot cheaper for everybody in the long run to take the bus than to operate a vehicle, especially with the rising cost of fuel."

CBC News has reached out to the cities of Flin Flon and Winkler about their intentions to implement the pilot project but has not received a response from either.