The U-Pass is up for renegotiation for the first time in three years. The meetings will look at what has and hasn’t worked, and what improvements should be made. One of which is the question of having it extend into the summer.
Currently, students older than 18 pay roughly $100 for a regular bus pass during the summer. It costs $376 for a U-Pass for the eight month school year, which comes out to $188 each semester.
If this were the case in the summer as well, it would save students roughly $212 on transportation if they were to stay here for the full four months.
Students still need to reach campus, and for many, walking and biking isn’t an option. With a U-Pass, they would be able to conveniently go to and from campus, without worrying about car payments or buying bus tickets every time they use the bus.
With this in mind, since Algonquin recently voted “yes” to have the U-Pass for their students, there would be more funds to go around, potentially offsetting the costs of increased service for OC Transpo.
Students choose to stay in Ottawa for a number of reasons during the summer, including work opportunities. The decision to do so should not be made harder by the cost of summer transportation. If our other school fees apply to a full year, then so should the U-Pass.
