Liberals promise bus passes for income support clients in St. John's area

The Liberals say they will provide bus passes to all income support clients in the metro St. John's region, as part of their election platform released this week.

That's a shift from the current policy, which sees bus passes only given to those people in the system who meet a threshold of eight medical appointments per month.

As CBC News reported two weeks ago, that medical transportation policy has resulted in "unintended consequences."

According to internal government briefing materials,patients on income support have been scheduling unneeded doctors' appointments to qualify for a Metrobus pass, and ambulances have been called because they don't have money to pay for a bus or taxi.

In an email to CBC News late Tuesday afternoon, the Liberal campaign said the move is expected to cost $3.7 million a year, and would be in place within six months.

The Liberals stressed that the cash outlay is supported within the funding envelope and projections associated with the 2019 budget, and nothingproposed in the party's platform changes the plan to return to surplus in 2022.

Doctors, advocates have called for change

Doctors and community advocates have pressed the province for a more affordable bus pass for low-income residents.

Dozens of them wrote a letter togovernment last year, outlining problems with the current set-up and calling for broader change.

They believe everyone on income support should get a free bus pass, not just for medical reasons, and there should be a subsidized rate for all low-income residents.

"The goal of this would be to ensure that everybody can participate in our society," Dr. Melanie van Soeren, a family physician with the Downtown Health Collaborative, told CBC News earlier this month.

"I believe that transportation is a human right that we all have the right to be able to move around our cities and to participate in all sorts of activities not just medical appointments."

The policy move announced in the Liberal red book would at least partially address those concerns.

Internal government briefing materials showed that the Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development has been looking at the issue.

But earlier this month, the department declined to provide detailed information to CBC News, instead issuing a statement saying "affordable transportation is vital for people to participate fully in their communities" and noting that talks were underway with Metrobus and St. John's city council.

The red book promise is under a section titled "Better Health Care Outcomes."

It notes: "Your Liberal government will also provide bus passes to all income support clients in the St. John's/Metro region by partnering with Metrobus, the City of St. John's, the Department of Children, Seniors, and Social Development, and the Department of Advanced Education, Skills, and Labour. This will further enhance our efforts in ensuring a Health-in-All-Policies approach to government policy."

A monthly adult Metrobus pass currently costs $78.

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