Last week I had written about how much money it was possible to save by taking public transportation. Since then, I have realized that there are a several varying possibilities for student bus passes across the country. The example I used of the pass in Winnipeg ended up being roughly average, so that’s good as far as the comparison went; however, soon after finding out about the various options across Canada I thought it may be interesting to note the differences.
Probably the most controversial issue of student bus passes in Canada is the potential of a majority of students on quite a few campuses to make the passes mandatory. Universities such as the University of Ottawa, the University of Victoria, Saint Mary’s University, and the University of Western Ontario have organized student referendums where students elected to incorporate bus passes together with 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 very low cost of public transportation for many who use it is an unquestionable incentive. For those campuses the rate was lowered to around a 100 dollars flat for the year! This is probably because of the increasing volume of sales. The fact that students are required to get passes would also improve the overall usage rates. This has good spin-off environmental effects, along with the mentioned financial ones.
For me personally, the drawbacks are a lot more prevalent to me. During my time at the University of Manitoba there was a referendum on whether to come up with a required bundle for public transportation to be supported by all students. I just can not get past the fact that it shouldn’t be considered fair for a slight majority of students to trample the legal rights of a large minority and take money out of their wallets to subsidize their preferred form of transportation. If I remember correctly, there was presently a percentage of the money used from parking service fees to help counteract student bus pass costs. This is still a hard sell for me regardless of the environmental benefits. Obviously as a car owner I am definitely bias.
My distaste for particular aspects of public transportation is likely a result of the Winnipeg pubic transit system. Regardless of how much money I was saving I couldn’t rationalize the steady waste of time. The schedules were never correct, the constant disrespect of passengers, and the poor weather aspect of life in Winnipeg, was enough to inspire me to get my own vehicle.
In the instance that I had went to school in British Columbia I would possibly have a very different perspective of student bus passes. After a comment from a local concerning her public transportation experience, I checked out the Vancouver area options. I was amazed by the great deal they got and the fact it was not subsidized by other students (this means it doesn’t punish the students that walk, bike, or drive to school). The U-Pass (universal pass) is available to post-secondary students for the low price of $30 monthly. The really great part of the deal is that this doesn’t only just cover the bus, but the Seabus and SkyTrain services as well! With such a comprehensive variety of options I would presume there is a reasonable amount of success with the program there.
In contrast, Winnipeg charges over $70 monthly 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 combined metro and bus pass, $71 for a student bus pass in Saskatoon, and Calgary didn’t even have a student price from the information I have been able to see on their web site. The general adult rate there for a month to month bus pass is $90.
One other thing people (not just students) who use bus passes should be aware of is the non-refundable tax credit available. For the majority of people you can get a pretty good idea of how much money you should receive on your taxes by multiplying the yearly rate of your bus passes by .15 (15%). This is a great little reward incentive for those of you who are already financially and environmentally conscious enough to use public transportation.
having a Student Bus Pass is a popular way to save money when going to school. cheap student transportation is very important to any university aiming to make a subsidised program to their students.