A Dartmouth senior is getting support from two Halifax councillors and the mayor in a campaign to get free bus rides for seniors.

Lorne Perry launched a petition over the holidays, calling on council to give seniors free transit passes one day a week during off-peak hours.

“For about two per cent of the time the buses run a week, that’s about all it is. We’re asking ‘would you let those people sit in an empty seat?’” Perry told News 95.7′s Rick Howe Show.

Perry said while the cost to the city will be negligible, the savings of a couple of bucks every week for a senior on a limited pension will be significant.

He’s hoping to collect 1000 signatures on his petition by the end of March.

Halifax Regional Council voted against the idea last year because of cost concerns.

Coun. Jerry Blumenthal (Halifax North End) said the suggestion that Metro Transit will lose revenue has no merit.

“That’s horse poo,” he said. “The buses are running half empty, if not two-thirds empty during the late morning and afternoon. All we’re trying to do is give the seniors, who have worked all their lives, a chance when they reach 65, to be able to go on a bus, one day a week, during non-peek hours.”

Blumenthal pointed out Ottawa lets seniors ride for free three times weekly.

Mayor Peter Kelly and Coun. Gloria McCluskey (Dartmouth Centre) are also on board and urging council to reconsider the idea.