City council members were taken to task Monday evening over their proposed new free transit system.

A representative of the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition told council the suggestion of offering free Whitehorse Transit passes through non-governmental organizations is one that came without any consultation with the affected groups.

“The coalition shares the concerns of last week that it’s now December and the Yukon government has yet to spend the money for free transit in Whitehorse,” Julie Hirsch said.

“Even though the coalition is one of the biggest distributors of free bus tickets, we were not consulted before the motion put forth to have NGOs and vulnerable people distribute the free passes.

“Many NGOs are already strapped for cash, for time and for staff.”

Hirsch added that the coalition understands the city’s dissatisfaction over the issue – especially the lack of consultation by the Yukon government and the NDP – but Whitehorse has now put NGOs in the same position.

“We do not feel it is responsible to place the burden of administering this program on NGOs, especially when they haven’t been consulted and may not necessarily even think it serves the needs of the community,” Hirsch said.

The coalition has already handed out more than 2,500 bus tickets so far in 2023.

However, it “also feels that access to free transit will be beneficial to all community members as well as to our environment.

“The Yukon government and the City of Whitehorse are missing an opportunity to provide equitable transit access to all residents, creating a system where bus passes were only provided if you can prove you are in need, which raises concerns about the quality, the dignity as well as important questions around the technical and administrative labyrinths about who has the right to determine need,” Hirsch told council.

She questioned how to establish an income threshold and how to prove that income level.

She said people who are already falling through the cracks of the social support system would continue to do so under the proposed bus pass distribution idea.

The coalition said it wants more consultations with the city and the government, as well as people affected and other NGOs before anything is implemented.

The coalition also wants to hold the government to its previously-expressed commitment to providing free public transit.

The councillors listened to the presentation without comment.

Free bus service for everyone was one of the conditions under which the NDP signed the Confidence and Supply Agreement with the governing Liberals last Jan. 31.