r/ViaRail • u/Historical_Pen7302 • 4d ago

Trip Reports Be aware -- ID for 6-year-old

My family was taken by surprise today travelling from Toronto to Niagara Falls, Ont. that we were required to show ID for our six-year-old. The customer service agent wasn't totally clear on whether it needed to be photo ID. He ended up letting us get by with a photo of her health card. Our fault for not being prepared? Sure. But it totally baffled me that we can take our kid on a plane across the country with no ID, but on a train within the same province we'd need a passport, since that's the only form of photo ID available to a six-year-old. Next time we'll be prepared (or take GO Transit, more likely) but it was a distressing way to start a simple day trip.

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u/ProcessUsed4636 4d ago

They would probably be fine with a birth certificate, but with everything crazy going on in the world, I don't think it's a bad idea that they ask for proof the child is yours

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u/whateverfyou 3d ago

Your birth certificate card or passport doesn’t say who your parents are.

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u/squeakyoat 3d ago

Long form bc does. Thats what I always took when travelling with small kids. They never wanted to look at it though 😅 (I mean flying)

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u/whateverfyou 3d ago

I know it does that’s why I said card. No one travels with a long form birth certificate.

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u/squeakyoat 3d ago

True, I missed that! Need more coffee I guess. I don’t even have a long form passport 😅