Despite free bus rides, not many kids are using MiWay in Mississauga

Overall, more people in Mississauga are riding transit buses now compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic, city transit officials say.

However, it’s student and adult riders who are driving those numbers, MiWay officials note, as ridership among kids (ages six to 12) remains significantly down while the number of older adults (age 65-older) taking the bus is still somewhat fewer than 2019.

MiWay officials say ridership in the latter two groups remains down despite being more than six months into a year-long pilot study that lets kids in that age group ride the buses for free.

The pilot, introduced May 1 and slated to run until next April 30, also significantly reduces the fare for older adults, allowing them to catch a ride for $1 around the clock.

In an update to Mississauga city councillors at Wednesday’s meeting of general committee, Transportation and Works Commissioner Geoff Wright wrote in a report that overall MiWay ridership during the first six months of the pilot (May through October) is up 12 per cent from the same time period in 2019, just prior to the pandemic hitting.

Despite that overall increase, the report noted that “MiWay continues to carry fewer senior and child riders.”

According to the report, the average monthly ridership for the child category between May and October of this year was 14,000 compared to 21,000 in 2019 for the same time period.

Wright noted kids in that age group make up only .3 per cent of MiWay’s total ridership.

Meanwhile, average monthly ridership in the older adults category between May and October was 214,000 compared to 243,000 during the same period in 2019, the report shows.

Older adults comprise 3.4 per cent of total MiWay ridership.

“Despite an increase in overall transit ridership, child ridership has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels,” Wright wrote in the report. “This indicates that providing free fares for children has not proven to be an effective incentive for attracting new riders.”

Reduction in MiWay revenue due to the free child fares since May totals about $148,000, according to the report.

As for older adults, “based on the extended discount for seniors, MiWay has not realized a growth in overall seniors riders compared with 2019,” the report stated. “The total reduction in transit revenue as a result of the six-month
all-day seniors $1 fare program from May to October 2023 is approximately $569,000.”

Still, overall MiWay ridership has dramatically rebounded since the pandemic tailed off, staff notes.

“MiWay’s ridership has exceeded the 2019 pre-pandemic levels by nine per cent to date. The majority of this progress can be attributed to the adult and student categories, as we have observed significant growth in these areas,” the report stated.

City staff said they’ll return to council with recommendations at the conclusion of the pilot next spring.

The ongoing pilot allows children ages six to 12 to travel on MiWay buses free of charge (with a Presto card) while the existing $1 seniors’ fare pass was extended to provide rides at that rate around the clock for the system’s older passengers.