The School Bus Pass - The Reason Why There Are Plenty Of Debates Because Of Them
A while back I wrote about how much money it was plausible to save through public transportation. Since that time, I have discovered that there are a quite a few assorted options for student bus passes throughout 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 proceeded to go; however, after checking out the different options across Canada I thought it may be useful 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.
Obviously this dilemma has some advantages and disadvantages. The very low cost of public transportation for those who use it is an indisputable incentive. On those campuses the cost was decreased to around a hundred bucks flat for the year! This is very likely because of the boosted volume of sales. The fact that students are compelled to get passes would also assist the overall usage rates. This has great spin-off environmental effects, in addition to the aforementioned financial ones.
For me personally, the drawbacks are a lot more prevalent to me. During my time at the University of Manitoba we had a referendum on whether to put together a compulsory package deal for public transportation to be supported by all students. I simply just can’t get past the fact that it should not be considered realistic for a slight majority of students to trample the legal rights of a massive minority and take money out of their wallets to subsidize their chosen 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 tough sell for me regardless of the environmental benefits. Obviously as a vehicle owner I am definitely bias.
My distaste for certain 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 constant waste of time. The schedules were hardly ever correct, the constant disrespect of passengers, and the lousy weather aspect of life in Winnipeg, was more than enough to inspire me to get my own car.
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.
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 service to their students.