Edmonton city council has voted down a proposal to provide free transit on Election Day.

The vote took place Tuesday afternoon at city hall.

Ward 6 Coun. Scott McKeen voted against the motion which was estimated to cost $146,000 in transit fares.

“I wasn’t sure, and I think some of my colleagues weren’t sure that it was going to do what we wanted it to do, that it was more symbolic,” said McKeen.

The motion was put forward by Ward 4 Coun. Aarron Paquette last week. He argued that the cost of a transit ticket could keep some voters getting to the polls.

"Believe it or not, $3.50 for a transit fare, $7 if they're going there and back ... that's their groceries for the week," he said on Oct. 3.

Paquette says he is disappointed by the decision.

Today #yegcc voted NO for fare-free transit for #elxn43. This was not the decision I was looking for. Many other cities and jurisdictions (@LethbridgeCity, @cityofsaskatoon, BC Transit) decided this was good for democracy. I agree. 1/3 https://t.co/9fhXkfza3d — Aaron Paquette (@Ward4Aaron) October 8, 2019

Council did vote unanimously as part of a separate motion to distribute transit tickets to certain organizations for use on election day to help voters get to polling stations.

Elliott Tanti with Boyle Street Community Services said that while it isn’t the outcome he was hoping for, it will still help.

“We are very happy with the compromise and we’ve every confidence the city’s going to deliver a good program that ultimately serves the people that we are looking out for in this conversation.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson