Students at Algonquin College may be required to pay for a mandatory universal transit pass—or U-Pass—starting September 2015, if students vote in favour of the move during a referendum this week.
From Nov. 17-21, the Algonquin Students’ Association (ASA) is asking students to submit a ballot answering whether they are in favour of mandatory U-Passes for full-time students.
Sixty per cent of voters must cast their decision in favour of the U-Pass in order for it to be adopted, said Christina Miller, president of the students’ association.
The U-Pass, which is negotiated through the City of Ottawa, gives students access to all transit routes in the city at a discounted fare.
The U-Pass would cost Algonquin students approximately $196.65 per academic term, including administration fees, Miller said.
The U-Pass is effective from the beginning of September to the end of April.
A regular OC Transpo student pass costs $80.25 per month for those between the ages of 13 and 19.
In 2012, OC Transpo eliminated a student bus pass for those over the age of 19.
Pat Scrimgeour, assistant general manager of customer systems and planning at OC Transpo, said in an email “U-Pass participants will save between 53-62 per cent on the face-value of monthly transit passes.”
“The Mayor and the Chair of the Transit Commission had been encouraging the student leadership and students at Algonquin to examine the potential for U-Pass adoption for quite some time,” Scrimgeour said.
“The Students’ Association at that point began talking to OC Transpo, who made it clear that they would not be removing [the cap],” Miller said. Since then, more students have been pushing for the U-Pass, she said.
Carleton University and the University of Ottawa adopted the U-Pass in 2010, and Saint Paul University followed suit in January 2013.
Students at the three universities pay $376 for the pass for the school year, according to OC Transpo’s website.
The Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) has been helping Algonquin’s student leaders develop their campaign, according to CUSA president Folarin Odunayo.
The U-Pass would be mandatory for all full-time Algonquin students, meaning those taking at least two-thirds of a full course load, according to the students’ association website. Part-time students would not be eligible for the pass, Miller said.
The U-Pass would also be available to full-time students in the summer term, Miller said.
Following the same guidelines as Ottawa’s three other schools, an opt-out option would be available to Algonquin students who meet certain conditions, such as residing outside the OC Transpo Service Area or studying outside the service area for more than 60 days, according to the students’ association website.
“Unfortunately, nobody has stepped up to the plate to run a no campaign,” Mackenzie Campbell, vice-president of ASA, said.
“I like to think it’s because we’ve had so much support [for the U-Pass], but I think it’s more toward the fact that it’s the time of year when there’s a lot of assignments due,” he said.
Devon Saulis, a music industry arts student at Algonquin, said she thinks it’s “silly” Algonquin is the only post-secondary institution in Ottawa yet to adopt the pass.
“Whether you’re always busing, or just once in a while, it’s worth having it,” as students are bound to take the bus at some point or another, she said.
Madison van Beerschoten, a first-year student at Algonquin who drives and uses the bus, said she agrees.
“I like that students get to vote on it, too. I don’t think people realize that it’s not really all or nothing—there are exemptions and I hope people educate themselves and vote,” she said.
