I swear the inappropriate reply to today's Minister @BowinnMa reward of tax relief for FAMILIES in the form of @translink & @bctransit youth passes of "why not seniors" & lack of gratitude from @taxpayerDOTcom confirm too much about our politics.

Yes, a #bcpoli #bcbudget2021!!

But first, all photos are mine and were taken pre-pandemic. Thanks for understanding.

First point: by the time you add the youth fare(s) of children to a traveling family's transit fares... it's normally cheaper for a family to DRIVE in that circumstance or even use a ridehail or taxi. That's math.

That's just not good fiscal policy for congestion relief or ze!

Second, youth who ride transit will use transit later in life. We know that we don't market well buses, an issue brought up in deep detail in @IslandPress's Better Buses, Better Cities by @shigashide currently on eBook sale this week: https://islandpress.org/books/better-buses-better-cities

A book I gift often!

Third, I want to respectfully critique @taxpayerDOTcom. Yes, my pal @kris_sims is right - too much deficit spending. Where we diverge is yes, I think now raise taxe$ on high income earners to share in ze sacrifice.

To be fair to Kris, statement below: https://twitter.com/kris_sims/status/1384624028128796677

It would have been nice had @taxpayerDOTcom said something about the tax cut - and since transit fare IS government taking money out of families' pockets, transit fare IS a tax. Disappointing that Minister @BowinnMa didn't get properly honoured and I'll stop there.

Fourth, the lament "What about seniors?" really is a bad take #bcpoli. It's the stuff that makes "OK, Boomer" ok in #bcleg.

Remember: "OK, boomer" started as a retort to a New Zealand parliamentarian heckling MP @_chloeswarbrick giving a climate speech. https://twitter.com/cnn/status/1192220290538967041?lang=en

Let's get something straight: Us elder millennials - thanks Minister @BowinnMa (35) - have seen how Western politics gives seniors so much. Most of which well deserved, but to turn around & decry a break for the working families that pay for those benefits is too much to accept.

I mean for too long the young have had tuition hikes, been stuck as a "Parliamentary Secretary" while working harder than most ministers, housing unaffordability, rising climate injustice and more.

Rightfully seniors have concession fares on @BCTransit & @TransLink. That's only right & proper as so many have fixed incomes and worked long, hard lives.

But to turn around & attack working families? When #ClimateAction is needed to clean up (mostly) the Boomers' mess? Really?

Maybe this tweet best summarizes the justice with this action: https://twitter.com/gregmckone/status/1384658175991812101

So today moved ze meter a bit towards #PublicTransit.

Minister @BowinnMa said it best at what good transit means, "It also means that the ability for their children to travel by bus on their own ... so that their parents are not transporting them around".

Also @abundanttransit had a decent 3-tweet #thread today too. Just wish they thanked Minister @BowinnMa for her leadership also. https://twitter.com/abundanttransit/status/1384649946565992452

I really am happy that Minister @BowinnMa is more interested in representing these folks...

(I ask @unspunpodcast plz mention this on the show this week!)

Instead of these folks!

I've said a lot. Not just because both Minister @BowinnMa and I are hard-core true believers in the @TransLink enterprise. Not just because I have a crush on a few #TransLink employees. But because I too have fought for a youth pass. Yes, me back home where I grew up.

Back in 2019, @skagittransit wanted to charge a fare on paratransit/dial-a-ride. I said sure, but even though both Minister @BowinnMa & I don't have kids... I wanted something done for FAMILIES.

Summer youth pass of $15 for 3 months of youth ridership is a significant discount.

It's the most that could get past Skagit Transit's politics. But at least it's real relief for FAMILIES. Relief I had to stand up for when it wasn't originally on the menu. Relief that will post-pandemic really help working families.

"Decisions are made by those who show up."

Also we know that youth fare discounts works for ze long term.

From a study on @StreetsblogUSA: “Our analysis suggests that prior exposure to public transportation can influence later decisions to use transit and to own one or more automobiles.”

SOURCE: https://usa.streetsblog.org/2017/04/14/the-transit-riding-habit-can-last-a-lifetime-but-first-you-need-to-get-people-in-the-habit/

So what Minister @BowinnMa did today really is going to help BOTH @TransLinkNews & @BCTransit out. So that this young lady will hopefully choose transit first.

#END

PS: Again all photos in this #thread of British Columbia transit & Skagit Transit buses were taken pre-pandemic.