Children under five years old will soon be able to ride Chatham-Kent's beach buses for free.
This option proves to be the most cost-efficient for the municipality, while still helping out young families wanting to travel to Erieau and Mitchell's Bay.
Some councillors wanted the age limit to be 12 or even 16, but Asset Director Tim Dick says keeping the limit to kids under five makes the most sense. Their smartcard system already has a pay grade for riders under five years old, so it's just a matter of making their fare free. "With the limited season of 17 weeks, and already well into the season, we were concerned about actually delivering the service for any extended time this year."
Dick adds allowing kids under 18 to ride for free would've cost Chatham-Kent $4,000 a year. The "kids ride free" policy should come into operation by early July, and run the rest of the summer.
