The previous week I had written about how much money it was possible to save if you take public transportation. After that, I have discovered that there are a quite a few assorted selections for student bus passes across the country. The example I used of the pass in Winnipeg ended up being roughly average, so that's fine as far as the comparison went; however, upon looking at the various options across Canada I thought it could be helpful to note the differences.
Probably the most controversial component of student bus passes in Canada is the possibility of a majority of students on some 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 held student referendums where students decided to include 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 drawbacks. The really low cost of public transportation for those who use it is an unquestionable incentive. For those campuses the cost was reduced to close to a 100 dollars flat for the year! This is very likely because of the increasing volume of sales. The fact that students are made to get passes would also benefit the overall usage rates. This has wonderful spin-off environmental effects, together with the aforementioned financial ones.
For me personally, the disadvantages are a lot more prevalent to me. During my time at the University of Manitoba there was a referendum on whether to put together a obligatory package deal for public transportation to be supported by all students. I just simply cannot get past the fact that it should not be considered realistic for a negligible majority of students to trample the rights of a significant minority and take money out of their pockets to subsidize their preferred form of transportation. If I remember correctly, there was currently a percentage of the money used from parking fees to help offset student bus pass costs. This is still a hard sell for me despite the environmental benefits. Naturally as a vehicle owner I am definitely bias.
My own distaste for particular aspects of public transportation is most likely a result of the Winnipeg pubic transit system. It doesn't matter how much money I was saving I couldn't justify the consistent waste of time. The schedules were never ever correct, the constant rudeness of travellers, and the bad weather aspect of life in Winnipeg, was more than enough to inspire me to get my own car.
If I had attended school in British Columbia I would possibly have a very different view of student bus passes. After a remark from a local with regards to her public transportation experience, I researched the Vancouver area choices. I was impressed by the good bargain 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 readily availablefor sale to post-secondary students for the low price of $30 a month. The 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 extensive variety of options I would assume there is quite a bit of success with the program 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 combined 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 was able to see on their web-site. The standard adult rate there for a month to month bus pass is $90.
One other thing for people (not just students) who use bus passes should be informed of is the non-refundable tax credit available. For some people you will get a pretty good idea of how much money you should get back on your taxes by multiplying the yearly fee of your bus passes by .15 (15%). This is a nice little bonus incentive for those of you who are already financially and environmentally conscious enough to use public transportation.
Probably the most controversial component of student bus passes in Canada is the possibility of a majority of students on some 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 held student referendums where students decided to include 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 drawbacks. The really low cost of public transportation for those who use it is an unquestionable incentive. For those campuses the cost was reduced to close to a 100 dollars flat for the year! This is very likely because of the increasing volume of sales. The fact that students are made to get passes would also benefit the overall usage rates. This has wonderful spin-off environmental effects, together with the aforementioned financial ones.
For me personally, the disadvantages are a lot more prevalent to me. During my time at the University of Manitoba there was a referendum on whether to put together a obligatory package deal for public transportation to be supported by all students. I just simply cannot get past the fact that it should not be considered realistic for a negligible majority of students to trample the rights of a significant minority and take money out of their pockets to subsidize their preferred form of transportation. If I remember correctly, there was currently a percentage of the money used from parking fees to help offset student bus pass costs. This is still a hard sell for me despite the environmental benefits. Naturally as a vehicle owner I am definitely bias.
My own distaste for particular aspects of public transportation is most likely a result of the Winnipeg pubic transit system. It doesn't matter how much money I was saving I couldn't justify the consistent waste of time. The schedules were never ever correct, the constant rudeness of travellers, and the bad weather aspect of life in Winnipeg, was more than enough to inspire me to get my own car.
If I had attended school in British Columbia I would possibly have a very different view of student bus passes. After a remark from a local with regards to her public transportation experience, I researched the Vancouver area choices. I was impressed by the good bargain 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 readily availablefor sale to post-secondary students for the low price of $30 a month. The 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 extensive variety of options I would assume there is quite a bit of success with the program 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 combined 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 was able to see on their web-site. The standard adult rate there for a month to month bus pass is $90.
One other thing for people (not just students) who use bus passes should be informed of is the non-refundable tax credit available. For some people you will get a pretty good idea of how much money you should get back on your taxes by multiplying the yearly fee of your bus passes by .15 (15%). This is a nice little bonus incentive for those of you who are already financially and environmentally conscious enough to use public transportation.
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Having a student bus pass is a common approach to saving money when attending school. Student public transportation is essential to any university that is thinking make a subsidised service to their students.
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