Brampton teens might be able to sign up for free transit passes and drop-in recreation classes this summer.
Under the city’s new proposed Explore Brampton Youth Pass, at least 1,000 Brampton youths between 12 and 15 years old would be able to ride Brampton Transit and attend city recreation programs free of charge during the summer months.
Those passes will include access to Brampton swimming pools, badminton and basketball courts, pick up hockey, pickleball, fitness centres and everything else Brampton Recreation has to offer.
The passes would be valid from July 1 to Sept. 5, and the city hopes the program will help youth feel safe and comfortable travelling on public transit while exploring everything Brampton has to offer.
Council will vote on the program next week with plans to start rolling out an online application portal in the coming months.
“Essentially, what (the program) will do is allow students to access our transit and our recreation program free so that they can be familiarised with our transit system and use our recreation services throughout the summer,” Coun. Charmaine Williams.
The first 1,000 passes under the pilot program will be first-come-first-served with a waiting list if the passes are all scooped up.
Brampton’s Committee of Council approved recommendations for the pilot program on Wednesday (April 13), and city staff are exploring doubling the number of free passes from 1,000 to 2,000 and increasing the age threshold up to 16 year olds.
The value of the Explore Brampton Youth Pass program would be approximately $214,000.
And while the city expects a possible transit fare revenue loss of around $60,000, staff estimated that the pilot program will help attract additional transit youth riders beyond the summer months and offset the revenue loss for a “net $0 impact” to the city’s bottom line.
The city says Brampton Recreation sold approximately 23,000 drop-in tickets to youth ages 10 to 17 in the summer of 2019.
