The School Bus Pass – Why There Are All Kinds Of Debates Because Of Them
The previous week I had written about how much money it was plausible to save through public transportation. After that, I have realized that there are a several assorted alternatives for student bus passes across the country. The example I used of the pass in Winnipeg ended up being around average, so that’s good as far as the comparison proceeded to go; however, upon considering various options around Canada I thought it may be helpful to note the differences.
Probably the most debatable aspect of student bus passes in Canada is the possibility of a majority of college students on several campuses to make the passes mandatory. Universities which includes the University of Ottawa, the University of Victoria, Saint Mary’s University, and the University of Western Ontario have organized student referendums where students decided to add bus passes as part of their over-all tuition and student user fees. At Ottawa this lead to a law suit by 9 students against the University because they felt discriminated against.
Naturally this dilemma has some advantages and disadvantages. The super low cost of public transportation for those that use it is an indisputable incentive. On those campuses the cost was decreased to close to a hundred bucks flat for the year! This is in all likelihood because of the increasing volume of sales. The fact that students are required to get passes would definitely also help out the overall usage rates. This has good spin-off environmental effects, as well as the mentioned financial ones.
Myself personally, the disadvantages are much more prevalent to me. During my time at the University of Manitoba we had a referendum on whether to put together a obligatory package for public transportation to be supported by all students. I just simply can’t get past the fact that it shouldn’t be considered fair for a slight majority of students to trample the rights of a big minority and take money out of their pockets to subsidize their preferred mode of transportation. If I remember correctly, there was already a percentage of the money used from parking fees to help offset student bus pass costs. This is still a tough sell for me despite the environmental benefits. Naturally as a car owner I am definitely bias.
My distaste for certain aspects of public transportation is very likely a result of the Winnipeg pubic transit system. It doesn’t matter how much money I was saving I couldn’t rationalize the consistent waste of time. The schedules were never ever correct, the constant rudeness of passengers, and the lousy weather aspect of life in Winnipeg, was enough to encourage me to get my own vehicle.
If perhaps I had went to school in British Columbia I may have a very different perspective of student bus passes. After a comment from a local regarding her public transportation experience, I reviewed the Vancouver area options. I was blown away by the great deal they got and the fact it was not subsidized by other students (this means it doesn’t penalize the students that walk, bike, or drive to school). The U-Pass (universal pass) is readily availablefor sale to post-secondary students for the low price of $30 monthly. The great part of the deal is that this doesn’t just cover the bus, but the Seabus and SkyTrain services as well! With such a extensive variety of options I would presume there is a reasonable amount of success with the program presently there.
In contrast, Winnipeg charges over $70 a month for its sloppy patchwork of buses. Other monthly public transportation rates for students consist of $89 for a metro pass in Toronto, $41 in Montreal for a merged metro and bus pass, $71 for a student bus pass in Saskatoon, and Calgary didn’t actually have a student price from the information I have been able to see on their website. The general adult rate there for a regular bus pass is $90.
One other thing people (not just students) who use bus passes should be informed of is the non-refundable tax credit available. For many people you can find a pretty good idea of how much money you should get back on your taxes by multiplying the yearly price of your bus passes by .15 (15%). This is a great little reward incentive for people who are already financially and environmentally sensitive enough to use public transportation.
Obtaining a cheap student bus pass is a popular way to save money when going to school. cheap student transportation is highly important to any university aiming to make a subsidised service to their students.
