Kelowna and Lake Country will be among the B.C. communities BC Transit will offer the GradPASS intiative to graduating students—two days of free, unlimited transit travel during the month of June.
It’s expected that more than 21,000 GradPASS cards will be given out this year across B.C.
GradPASS was first introduced in Vancouver in 1988 as part of the Counterattack Program and the Victoria Regional Transit System embraced it in 1990.
Over the past 28 years, the number of participating communities has grown to 45, from Sooke to Revelstoke, from Abbotsford to Hazelton and Prince George.
“The Class of 2016 is on an exciting journey, and we’re pleased to provide safe travel – especially during graduation celebrations,” said Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Todd Stone. “To that end, I urge grads to take advantage of the free two-day transit GradPASS.”
“School is a place where good habits are developed and encouraged,” added BC Transit president and CEO Manuel Achadinha. “A great habit is to make sustainable transportation choices when travelling to post-secondary school, work or play.”
GradPASS is easy to use: students simply scratch off their two chosen travel days (they don’t have to be consecutive days) and show the card to their bus driver. GradPASS is not transferable and can only be used on participating local systems.