Full Steam Ahead: Youth Transit Validated, Scaled and Ready to Roll
At Get on the Bus, we’ve always believed that free and equitable youth access to public transit is one of those rare interventions that delivers across the board: access, autonomy, education, environment, and economy. We’re thrilled to see that belief confirmed by the new investment case report on the Kingston high school transit pass initiative.
The Begining
In 2012 the seeds were sown: a pilot program combining training in using the system with full access to the municipal bus network for Grade 9 students. Over time, this expanded to all high-school grades and became permanent. What we now see is more than just “free rides” – it’s a cost-benefit-validated movement for the whole community.
The Findings
The report shows that the Kingston program generated around 196,000 additional student transit rides per year — 72,000 of which replaced private-vehicle trips. The benefits are enormous: time savings for families (approximately 10,000 hours/year), a reduction of roughly 70 tonnes of CO₂ per year, and monetized societal benefits of nearly CA$2 million annually. All this compared to annual costs of about CA$570,000. In short, for every dollar invested, the community received more than three dollars back — a benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of approximately 3.6 in the baseline case.
From our vantage point, this is a transformational moment. Why? Because it provides the ammunition for governments, school boards, transit agencies, and funders across Canada to say: yes, youth transit is not just good policy but a smart investment. From a federal, provincial, municipal, or institutional standpoint this isn’t a “nice-to-have” — it’s a “must-have”.
How we do it
Our approach at Get on the Bus is simple: we work with communities where they are at. Whether that means engaging at the policy level (through transit and education partnerships), supporting training for students and operators, or developing youth-friendly strategies to turn young riders into lifelong transit users. Whether a community is rural, suburban, or urban the core logic remains the same: invest in youth transit now and reap multidimensional dividends.
What we can learn
The Kingston story inspires us. It shows that building a transit culture among young people is possible, scalable, and impactful. We now want to take that momentum national. We want bigger cities, mid-sized centres, and even smaller communities to say: let’s ride together, let’s invest wisely, let’s build future transit riders now. Because every minute wasted in traffic, every missed school day, and every extra tonne of CO₂ is avoidable. And the proof is now on the table.
So, to decision-makers reading this: the data speaks loudly. The social impact is impressive. The economic case is clear. The benefits span education, equity, environment, and community. Let’s seize this moment. Let’s unite across jurisdictions, push for policy, champion youth, and get on the bus nationally.
Join us. Ride with us. Let’s build the future of transit together.
Read the report here: New Report: High School Transit Pass Program - Ontario Association of School Business Officials (OASBO)
