Winnipeg students to ride fare-free as back to school season approaches

Around 30,000 students in Winnipeg will have the opportunity to ride public transit for free in September as the back-to-school season approaches. However, numerous concerns have arisen regarding the distribution of the passes and the system's capacity to accommodate the anticipated surge in ridership. City officials have expressed reservations about the lack of proper planning, stating that the initiative was announced too late and will likely face challenges in implementation.

Mayor Janice Lukes, chair of the Public Works committee, has criticized the decision, calling it an "unproperly planned" initiative and predicting that there will be instances of pass-ups. The city's plan is to provide free transit passes to students aged 11 to 21, which will be distributed through schools in grades on a phased basis in partnership with the provincial government. Premier of Manitoba has said that the program will be rolled out gradually.