For the past 10 years, students have been lobbying city council for an affordable universal bus pass (U-Pass), a semester-long pass that full-time students would get as part of their tuition fees. A U-Pass would allow eligible students to ride the bus or the O-Train by simply showing their student cards.
Two years ago, after much student lobbying, the City of Ottawa passed a pilot U-Pass program at the University of Ottawa but set the price at $198 per semester. This price was well above the mandate the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa received that year when students made clear through a referendum that they would pay $125 per semester for such a pass. Because of the city’s decision not to come down in price, the campaign seemed all but over. That is, until last week when the transit committee approved a U-Pass option priced at $145 per semester.
If this new proposal passes through the necessary stages at city council, Carleton and University of Ottawa students will be able to vote on the offer for themselves.
Students should start working to make this happen. This is a good deal and with strong lobbying efforts students could have the ability to decide whether it’s a deal they wish to take.
This is an opportunity to get involved in an issue that will affect all of us. Getting to and from school daily is something most students need to budget for, and students in Ottawa have a harder time than most, as OC Transpo has some of the highest fares in the country and they are only going to get worse.
The transit committee recently recommended a 3.5 per cent hike in student transit fares, half of the increase that OC Transpo demanded. That means that semester pass prices could increase by about $8, costing students more than $250 per semester. If students are able to take advantage of the committee’s new $145 U-Pass offer, that would mean savings of more than $100 each semester.
But there is always a catch; to make the U-Pass a reality, students would have to pay for it whether they were planning on using the transit system or not. U-Pass fees would be automatically applied to all full-time students’ tuition and there would be no opt-out option. But I urge all students, even those who might not be interested in paying for the pass, to look into the benefits that supporting this initiative would bring to our community.
This type of pass exists in most major cities in Canada and saves students hundreds of dollars on transit fares every year. This pass would encourage students to use public transit, often resulting in less car congestion and encouraging sustainable practices. Students with mobility issues would benefit from this as well. Para Transpo’s services are in high demand and there are simply not enough Para Transpo buses for users to schedule their lives around. The budget for the U-Pass would include more dedicated money each year to go into our public transit system, with money specifically going to Para Transpo and infrastructure for more accessible transit.
Students in Ottawa won a huge victory in September against a city council decision that had arbitrarily set an age limit for buying student bus passes. This victory set the tone that students in Ottawa can mobilize and are effective at lobbying government. Yet, the battle for affordable transit in Ottawa is far from over.
If you believe that students should have a U-Pass, get involved in the lobby effort – contact your city councillor or the mayor, attend city council meetings, and help spread the word.