The City of Kamloops will be subsidizing bus passes for some low-income residents of the city.

Councillors voted unanimously to approve a pilot program, which will begin in September and offer yearly bus passes for $80 dollars.

Social and community development supervisor Natalie Serl says up to 1,000 people who qualify will be able to receive a subsidized bus pass. People will be eligible if they access the Affordable Recreation and Community Health program but are not eligible for a provincial transportation summary.

“In order to apply, you have to be referred to the city through one of the 32 social agencies in town; ASK Wellness, Family Resource Centre, the Elizabeth Fry Society. Basically those agencies, they do the verification of the income threshold, they look at your finances, they verify that you are a resident of the city, that you have the valid ID needed,” Serl says.

“This year is a pilot so that we can see who we have been able to make this accessible to, and what folks may have missed out because of some parameters that may have been set. This year is also a year of looking at how many people will be uptaking in the program… And will we see an increase in the (ARCH) program too.”

Serl says the bus pass can be paid in four $20-dollar instalments. She says it is an 85 per cent discount from the year ProPass for city busses.