The Yukon government will no longer look at free transit for all, but will work with the City of Whitehorse and non-governmental organizations to help vulnerable people access transit for free.

“We as a government, after having met with the NDP, are going to explore how to effectively distribute bus passes to vulnerable people through NGOs,” Community Services Minister Richard Mostyn said this morning.

“The Confidence and Supply Agreement expressed a desire to get free transit to Yukoners, so we will use free bus passes to make good on that commitment,” he said.

“I’ve always been clear we want to honour that commitment while respecting the municipality’s rights and responsibilities.”

The government earlier tried to make good on that commitment by offering the city $1.5 million in lieu of fares, but that offer was turned down.

The city will focus on service improvement, which a recent study says will increase ridership more than lower or no fares.

“The Yukon NDP is still pushing for free transit,” said MLA Lane Tredger.

“At this point, the Community Services minister and I are looking at how to work with the city’s motion that asks non-profits to give out free bus passes.”

Due to the policy work, costing and negotiations needed with the Transit Working Group, Mostyn was not able to speculate on how long it might be before a program could launch.

Earlier, the CASA group reached out to 25 NGOs on options for getting transit passes into the hands of vulnerable people.

The 11 groups that responded indicated they were willing to issue transit passes.