The Tory Transit Policy: The Details Are Up

The federal Tory website has managed to post up details of the plan they announced earlier this week. Turns out it'll be in the form of an individual tax credit.

They've also included a calculator so you can figure out how much you can save. I pay $800 per year for the bus; the credit should wind up saving me $128 on my tax bill. (Which equates, in my case, to 2 weeks' worth of groceries, or a month and a half of bus tickets. Not exactly spectacular, but then again every little bit helps.)

On their details page, the Tories say they plan to couple this with a direct transfer to municipalities out of gasoline taxes. The idea is to use the credit to increase ridership, which equals more at-source revenue for the transit systems.

I'd call this a saleable campaign plank for major urban centres as well as the suburbs, provided that it's explained as a tax saving as well as a transit incentive. (You want the savings? Leave the car at home and take the bus.)