Transport could be made free for children and uni students in Canberra.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
At least that's what ACT Labor party members would like to see, voting in favour of the motion at Saturday's annual party conference.
While Chief Minister Andrew Barr says it will be something to aspire to in the future, it looks unlikely that the policy will become reality any time soon.
The motion changed ACT Labor's policy platform to support free travel on public transport for students carrying a MyWay card - including university students.
Labor backbencher Suzanne Orr, who spoke about the need to take bold action on climate change at the conference, said the proposal had both environmental and social benefits.
"I know certainly for myself I spent a decade in hospitality and tourism and it's harder to get by in this city when you're on those incomes. We should be looking to ... make it more equitable and more accessible for people in our city," she said.
"There's actually quite a big task if we're going to decarbonise our economy and reach our goal of being carbon neutral by 2045."
ACT Greens spokeswoman Caroline Le Coulter said the party would support the initiative provided it did not cause a cut in bus and light rail services.
"It could be a useful expansion to the existing free off-peak travel for concession card holders which was part of the Greens/ALP Parliamentary Agreement commitment," she said.
"This has been available since January 2017, but currently excludes students."
Mr Barr said it had to be balanced against other public transport funding priorities.
"For instance I would prefer to expand services and offer more services than necessarily making travel free for a particular cohort. It's something we can aspire to in the longer term."