Accessible Widget

July 31, 2014

Lovin N Pubbin, Join us!


We hope you join members of the Right to Love for our summer mix and mingle! 

Join us at the Cat N Fiddle on 
Thursday, August 21st 
beginning at 4 pm until 7 pm. 


  • Appetizers provided, bring some cash to pay for for your drinks! 
  • RSVP as soon as we can to reserve space for you. 
  • Leave a message at 403.717.7630 
  • or drop us a line on our email actionhall@calgaryscope.org


See you there! 

July 25, 2014

Is affordable transit only meant for Seniors?

Members of the Hall are crossing fingers Calgary City Council will stop providing special discounts for one vulnerable age group and not the other. Transit fares are becoming increasingly more costly & may move beyond reach of Calgarians who need accessible, affordable transit. 

Two ways we see how to address the affordability is to:

-Introduce a single ride fare at 50% of the adult single fare and
-Create a sliding scale for the many Calgarians regardless of age, cannot afford a transit pass beginning at $ 54 a year based on income. 

Evidence shows many persons aged 35-44 volunteer the most (figure 1) and are also part of the work force facing extreme barriers to better jobs with better pay (figure 2). 

Over the last week members of the Disability Action Hall shared with City Council while we are grateful for the $ 44 a month pass, it is no longer affordable, meanwhile poverty groups feel discriminated against despite pleas for the latest fare strategy to be based on affordability & fairness, yet transit and some City Councillors continues to provide only affordable rate discounts for seniors.
Age 35 to 44 volunteer most at nearly 63%
Figure 1: Ages 35 to 44 Volunteer the most according to Statistics Canada 


The proposed fare strategy is counter-intuitive to the City of Calgary's  Sustainability Direction targets of equity, and prosperous economy. The fare strategy may end up creating more barriers to employment and for people to contribute to the economy and society. Giving one privileged group better discounts based on age and not on fairness principles such as social inclusion and income as outlines in the current Fair Calgary City Policy.  The current fare strategy only pits one vulnerable group against the other. 

Figure Two: Majority of citizens earning less than $15 an hour are ages 25-44 years of age


If you think we need more a more simple, fair fare structure, please call 311 or write your Councillor a letter prior to Monday, July 28th, 2014. 

Sources: 

Kolkman, John, Joseph Ahorro and Bill Moore-Kilgannon, Achieving the promise of ending poverty in Alberta. (Alberta College of Social Workers, Public Interest Alberta  and Edmonton Social Planning Council; November 2012). Available at: http://www.campaign2000.ca/reportCards/ 





July 17, 2014

Call to Action for Fair Simple Fares

Call to Action for fair, simple fares for all ages

Members of the Disability Action Hall invite you to come and join us to speak to the fare strategy being presented to Council on Friday, July 18th at the Old City Hall, in the basement. 


Our concerns is the Calgary lawyers may not have looked at this proposed fare strategy to see if it is discriminatory on the basis of income. We believe a better fare strategy is possible. 

We think the proposed fare strategy is regressive. It is a step backwards as it continues to pit vulnerable groups against each other and limit mobility of Calgarians living on low-income.

Help us create a better way. Help us create fair simple fares for all Citizens who cannot afford the bus for all ages. 

The committee starts at 9:30 and Citizens of Calgary can speak to the fairness of the fares for 5 minutes. 

To learn about the report, please visit this link.