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B.C. Teachers' Strike: Teen Claims Bus Driver Rejected Student Fare

Bus Driver Rejected Student Fare Due To Strike: Teen
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A B.C. teen says that a TransLink bus driver rejected her discounted student fare because of the teachers' strike.

Sydney Walsh paid $1.75 to get on a bus Monday morning to her part-time job in Langley when the driver demanded to see her student discount card, she told The Province.

When the 16-year-old, who is entering Grade 12, showed it to him, he said it wasn't valid during the strike and that she would have to pay the full fare of $2.75.

She refused to pay more and tweeted to TransLink about it, pointing out her discount GoCard doesn't expire until Oct. 31.

TransLink confirmed to The Huffington Post B.C. that GoCards are indeed valid until the end of October. (However, students entering Grade 8 will not get their cards until school resumes.)

"This is business as usual," the company said in an email Tuesday. "Any student presenting a valid GoCard should be permitted on the bus at a concession fare."

TransLink said it is difficult for an investigation to be launched because Walsh has not filed a formal complaint. (The teen told The Province she's complained about other things in the past with no results.)

B.C. teachers have been on strike since the late June, and there is still no end in sight in the contract dispute with the provincial government.

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