One day after Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps confirmed the city will provide free bus passes to youth under 19, several Craigslist ads have popped up attempting to buy and sell monthly youth bus passes.
The passes are being offered online for between $19 and $25. A monthly youth pass on B.C. Transit normally costs $45. People younger than 19 with a Victoria address will get the passes for free starting Dec. 1.
One ad, which advertises 12 passes for sale, says orders are being taken for December and tells potential buyers to reserve passes now.
Another ad offers a discount if buyers take two passes, selling one pass for $19 and two for $30.
Messages seeking to purchase the passes offer to pay between $8 and $12.
“Maybe you decided you did not need one, and you can’t return it for a refund,” one ad reads.
Another features an image of a bag of cash next to the words, “You want to make some money?”
The posts don’t refer to the new program for Victoria youth, but one ad says, “maybe you got a cheap or free pass as part of some program.”
The monthly youth passes cost the city $11.25 per person for the 7,200 youth in the city.
Families will have to show proof of address when they pick up passes from City Hall at the end of each month.
