Lest they forget

City should honor veterans by waiving Transit fares on Remembrance Day

There is a common theme to the emails Free Press readers send to the City of Winnipeg website, addressed to Mayor Brian Bowman and CC’d to me.

"I’ve tried writing the mayor... and have never received a reply from him," retired Winnipeg Transit operator George Morrison said in an email.

Morrison is almost 60, but long before driving a city bus for more than 30 years, he was a sea cadet. His message to the mayor goes back to that life experience and an issue that’s become a sensitive subject for Morrison and other Transit operators:

"Dear Mr. Bowman. Once again as Remembrance Day approaches, I find it embarrassing that Winnipeg Transit will not be allowing free rides for veterans. Many cities across Canada are offering veterans and, in some cases, their traveling companions, free rides on their transit systems on Nov. 11. Some cities (Ottawa, in particular) are even offering free rides for the entire Veterans’ Week."

Morrison acknowledged Winnipeg offers some parking perks for veterans; however, Remembrance Day street parking is free to all. Obviously, it bothered him when he was behind the wheel of a bus and opened the door to veterans who were supposed to have their fare ready on Remembrance Day — and it still bothers him even after leaving the job.

His message to Bowman, written out of frustration, listed some of the other cities that have climbed on board the Nov. 11 transit free-ride salute to Canada’s veterans and in some cases, extended it to serving military and their families.

In 2006, as the Toronto Transit Commission was approving complimentary rides for "military veterans and peacekeepers," it undertook a survey to see what other cities were doing. The TTC discovered Vancouver, Ottawa and various municipal transit services in the Greater Toronto Area were granting free rides on Remembrance Day, some including companions and still-serving members.

That was more than a decade ago.

Halifax has joined the club. Edmonton, too.

Two years ago, just before Remembrance Day, Calgary city council approved free rides for veterans. Not surprisingly, it was a unanimous vote.

At the time, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi spoke with Calgary Transit operators to gauge the move’s potential impact. "They were not fussed about it anyway," he later told reporters.

Nenshi referenced the fare-free Remembrance Day in Halifax that extends to both veterans and current military personnel who show up in uniform or who present a military ID when boarding transit. Accompanying family members also ride free in the Nova Scotia capital.

In Calgary, they dispensed with an official test for identifying who is eligible, instead adopting the honor system to honor Canada’s veterans.

"I think we’ll just trust them," the mayor said. "If they’re in uniform and they’re wearing a poppy, I think the operator can just make that call."

The Calgary city councilor who introduced the motion explained why he did it: "This is not my idea," Sean Chu said. "Someone smarter than me on Twitter asked me: ‘Hey, maybe we should do this.’ And I thought, ‘Oh, that’s a great idea.’"

In other words, he’s a politician who got the message, listened and responded.

Morrison said his idea for Winnipeg wasn’t listened to or even acknowledged — and so he reached out to the Free Press.

"Maybe this is something you might be interested in helping us get something done and offer a free ride to the veterans that have done so much for us," he wrote. "Why is it that we can let anyone that doesn’t want to pay a fare ride for free, but we insist that a veteran pay his way?"

Morrison was referring to the common practice — sanctioned by Winnipeg Transit — of operators not risking a confrontation over someone getting on the bus and not having the fare or simply refusing to pay.

On Monday morning, I emailed the city and asked why it hasn’t extended the same courtesy so many other cities have. It seems a small gift of respect that even Winnipeg’s two largest taxi services — Unicity and Duffy’s — have been offering free rides for veterans travelling to a Remembrance Day service and home again for the last two years. And they will again Saturday.

As of deadline, I was still waiting for a response from the City of Winnipeg. But by then, I already had an answer from someone else.

A still-employed Transit operator (a pal of Morrison’s), called to say he had asked the same question years ago, when Sam Katz was mayor. And as he recalled, the response was straightforward.

"Too costly and too complicated."

Too costly? Tell that to the families of the fallen and wounded warriors.

The bus driver said, over the years, he and other like-minded operators have developed their own way of showing veterans the respect the city hasn’t. They cover the fare box when they recognize a veteran boarding the bus.

Then, as if an explanation is needed, they tell him or her why: "You’ve already paid."

REMEMBRANCE DAY PARKING

While on-street parking is already complimentary on Remembrance Day, this year the Winnipeg Parking Authority will also be offering complimentary parking in the Millennium Library facility to vehicles bearing Manitoba veteran license plates.

Connected via through the Skywalk from City Place, the library facility offers an additional option for veterans attending the ceremony at the Convention Centre.

— source: Winnipeg Parking Authority

FREE TAXI RIDES FOR VETERANS

For the third consecutive year, military veterans can call either Duffy's or Unicity taxi companies -- and identify themselves as a veteran -- for a complimentary ride to and from Remembrance Day services in Winnipeg.

-- source: Winnipeg Community Taxi Alliance