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The commissioners wanted OC Transpo officials to look into what other cities are doing and come back with advice on whether such an arrangement might be possible in Ottawa — and at what cost.

Some form of subsidy for low-income riders is available in several Ontario cities, including Kingston, Oakville, Burlington, Hamilton and Windsor. The Toronto Transit Commission is exploring whether it should do the same.

OC Transpo estimates that 31,000 transit users in Ottawa have incomes below the low-income cut-off, based on demographic information from the 2011 travel survey. Many are already eligible for some type of discount on transit fares.

However, if a low-income fare program were to be implemented, OC Transpo would work with the city’s community and social services department to confirm eligibility of customers requesting a low-income pass. Once a rider is deemed eligible, they would receive their discounted monthly pass on a Presto card.

But unlike other Presto card, these ones would not be transferrable and customers would have to carry photo ID to confirm their identity to fare inspectors.

The memo will appear on the May 9 transit commission agenda, about a month before we’re expecting to see the results of a long-awaited, top to bottom review of OC Transpo’s fare structure.

Back in the fall, transit commission chairman Stephen Blais seemed open to the idea of a low-income pass, which could help, among others, single parents, working families and seniors on fixed incomes. “Exploring how we might better provide in a more equitable way service for those marginalized residents is a good thing,” he said.

But lowering fares for one group of riders could mean raising it for others, as the bus service must strive to collect 55 per cent of its annual revenue from fares.