Saskatoon city council approved a new transit bylaw outlining acceptable behaviour on city buses. The bylaw establishes rules governing fare payment, disruptive behaviour and animals allowed on board. It also authorizes officers to remove people from transit property, impose temporary bans and issue $50 tickets. Community advocate Melissa Naytowhow spoke to council before the bylaw was approved. “For someone living paycheque to paycheque, a $50 fine can represent groceries, medication or part of this month’s rent,” Naytowhow said. She argued the bylaw could disproportionately affect some of the city’s most vulnerable residents. “If someone is prohibited from using transit, where are they expected to go? Forcing someone to walk long distances during extreme Saskatchewan weather can expose them to significant health and safety risks. It can also make it harder for them to reach shelters, medical appointments, employment, education or other essential services,” Naytowhow said. City solicitor Cindy Yelland said the bylaw is less about enforcement and more about establishing a standard of behaviour. “The nature of the bylaw is targeted at bad behaviour, not at specific people,” Yelland said. “It will only be in extreme circumstances that somebody is actually banned from using Saskatoon Transit, and usually after repeated offences.” Bus Riders of Saskatoon supported the bylaw overall but questioned some of its broadly-worded provisions. The advocacy group also opposed a section that would have required children under six to be accompanied by someone who was at least 16. “There’s no reason a 15-year-old can’t pick up a younger sibling from school,” said Robert Clipperton, a member of the group’s steering committee. Coun. Zach Jeffries, who previously supported the age restrictions, changed his position. He said unsupervised kids on Saskatoon buses is a non-issue. “Including those age provisions was a rule in search of a problem,” Jeffries said. Coun. Randy Donauer argued drivers should not be in a position where they’re babysitting. “By letting a three-year-old onto the bus completely unsupervised, we are accepting responsibility for that child, and that bus can go anywhere across the city,” Donauer said. Coun. Kathryn MacDonald said existing federal and provincial laws already address child abandonment and situations in which children are placed at risk, without establishing a minimum age for riding public transit. Council ultimately removed the proposed age requirement from the bylaw. The new rules take effect Sept. 1.
