A Movement Beyond One Voice: Reflections on Regina’s Free Transit for Youth

By Sophia Young

When I think about my journey advocating for free transit in Regina, SK over the last four years, I don’t see it as just my story—it’s a story of community, of collaboration, and of what happens when people come together for something bigger than themselves.

It started with a personal struggle. My dad suffered a severe injury that left him temporarily paralyzed, and my mom had to take on the weight of our household. That meant transportation—something many take for granted—became a significant barrier. The simple act of getting to school, extracurriculars, or seeing friends was a constant challenge. And I knew I wasn’t alone.

I met other students—newcomers struggling to navigate transit systems, kids walking 45 minutes in the winter, and high schoolers working part-time jobs just to afford bus passes for their younger siblings. It wasn’t just about me. It was about an entire generation being cut off from opportunities simply because they didn’t have a reliable way to get there.

That’s when I started Better Bus Youth, a grassroots initiative that, at first, was just a handful of students. We advocated for fare-free transit for youth under 18, knowing that we had to take it one step at a time. Our first victory came in July 2022, when Regina City Council passed a motion to provide fare-free transit for youth under 13, helping 50,000 youth and families access community resources. When the program went into effect in August 2022, ridership among youth in that age group skyrocketed by 260%, proving what we had been saying all along: when you give young people access to transit, they use it.

But the movement didn’t stop with me. It grew beyond one voice, beyond one leader. As I aged out of high school, it was important to ensure that this remained a youth-led initiative. That’s when the next generation stepped up—Daniel Leibman worked closely with Regina City Councillor like Shanon Zachidniak and Cheryl Stadnichuk to introduce a motion for a high school transit pilot program, and after him, Kye Kolody-Watt carried the torch, continuing to engage with city council and community partners to push it forward.

And just last month, on January 29, 2025, Regina City Council unanimously passed the motion for a high school transit pilot. Seeing it pass wasn’t just a victory for free-for-youth transit—it was a victory for every student, teacher, parent, and community member who worked to make it happen. Organizations like the Regina Open Door Society, the Public and Catholic School Boards, Regina Energy Transition, and the Regina Citizens Public Transit Coalition all played a role in making this a reality.

Regina’s free-for-youth transit movement is part of a larger national shift—one that I am now proud to support as part of Get on the Bus, a national initiative led by the Small Change Fund. This movement is about more than just one city. It started in Kingston, Ontario, in 2012 with a grade nine pilot that grew into a program offering fare-free transit to all high school students. Now, over 23 communities across Canada have adopted some form of free or reduced-fare transit for youth. Halifax, for example, has worked with the provincial government to fund free-for-youth transit for 28,000 students—a model of intergovernmental collaboration that we need to see more of across the country.

Municipalities like Regina are leading the way, but they shouldn’t have to do it alone. The provincial and federal governments need to step up and support youth transit initiatives. Transit isn’t just about getting from point A to point B—it’s about access to education, jobs, and community participation. It’s an investment in our future.

The passage of Regina’s high school transit pilot is not the end of the journey—it’s just the beginning. There are still more communities to reach, more policies to change, and more youth to empower. My hope is that other cities see Regina’s success and realize that they, too, can take this step.

To the next young leader out there, wondering if they can make a difference: you can. And to the decision-makers at every level of government: let’s ensure that no young person in Canada is left behind simply because they can’t afford a bus ride.

The movement is growing. Let’s keep it going.