Jason Boyd knows a thing or two about deliveries.
The owner of Frank’s Pizza has been responsible for bringing fresh ‘za to Selkirk and area doorsteps for years and he’s now expanding his partnership with the Selkirk Transit Authority to help deliver young people to local destinations as well.
Frank’s Pizza will be providing free youth passes for Selkirk Transit from December of this year to March 2022.
Local sponsorship going the extra mile
Manager of Transportation Services Charlene Dunning said Frank’s Pizza already sponsors STA Youth Passes and by doing so reduces the monthly pass from $45 to $20. They’ll now be free to riders 17 and under for the next four months.
“We appreciate Jason’s sponsorship of STA and we’re really excited about being able to offer free rides to youth,” Dunning said.
“We want to increase ridership in the youth demographic and this is a perfect introduction to the system for them.”
A few years ago, Boyd established Frank’s Fund to help reduce the price for youth organizations chartering a Selkirk Transit bus.
“Jason’s daughter was in daycare at the time, and he became aware of the daycare and other youth organizations chartering the bus,” Dunning said.
“He wanted to help out and so he worked with us to create the fund to make the charters more affordable.”
The fund was a success, but charters ground to a halt during COVID.
With money built up in the fund, Dunning approached Boyd about using it to offer free youth passes.
Boyd was all over it.
“Any chance that we get to help out, anything we can do, we want to do it,” Boyd said.
“Subsidizing the youth passes and making them more affordable is great, but now with the buildup in the other fund, it makes sense to help out with free passes. So we’re happy to do it.”
Free Transit when youth and the planet need it most
Coun. Doug Poirier, a city representative on the STA board, said increasing youth ridership is a priority, and offering free passes in the dead of winter when walking can be challenging makes perfect sense.
“Jason is a great community guy. His involvement with the bus passes is great. His generosity, personally and through his business has made a difference in the community,” Poirier said.
The city just passed its Greenhouse Gas Accountability Bylaw and Poirier said getting more people on the bus and out of individual cars is huge.
“The City of Selkirk is working to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, we’re taking action on climate change and it’s important that we educate this younger generation about riding the bus,” Poirier said.
“You’re hoping that as they grow up, they’ll get their friends and parents to ride. If we can educate the younger generation about how important it is to have fewer vehicles on the road, then we’re moving in the right direction.”
The City of Kingston, Ont., increased its annual high school bus ridership from 28,000 to 600,000 by offering free passes and educating students on how to take the bus and the benefits of it.
Known as ‘The Kingston Model’, the passes and annual Grade 9 student orientation not only teaches students how to take the bus, it explains the social, economic, health and environmental benefits of riding.
Poirier said the city is always looking for innovative ways to do better, and council was impressed with what Kingston was able to accomplish.
“Selkirk’s on the map for what we’re doing, both locally and on a national scale,” Poirier said.
“Taking action on climate change is important to Selkirk council. We’re a growing community and getting the next generation on the bus is a good initiative.”
Tickets and passes available at:
- City of Selkirk Civic Office (200 Eaton Ave.)
- Department of Culture, Recreation & Green Transportation (630 Sophia St.)
- Selkirk Transit Buses
For more information contact:
Charlene Dunning
Manager of Transportation Services
204-482-4636 (INFO)
