The School Bus Pass – The Reason Why There Are Plenty Of Arguments Because Of Them

A week ago I had written about how much money it was plausible to save if you take public transportation. After that, I have became aware that there are a quite a few assorted possibilities for student bus passes throughout the country. The example I used of the pass in Winnipeg turned out to be around average, so that\’s good as far as the comparison went; however, soon after considering the many options around Canada I thought it might be interesting to note the differences.

Probably the most controversial issue of student bus passes in Canada is the ability of a majority of university students on some campuses to make the passes mandatory. Universities just like 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 add bus passes together with their all around tuition and student user fees. At Ottawa this lead to a law suit by nine students against the University simply because they felt discriminated against.

Naturally this predicament has some positives and disadvantages. The super low cost of public transportation for many who use it is an undeniable 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 additional volume of sales. The fact that students are obligated to get passes would definitely also help out the overall usage rates. This has terrific spin-off environmental effects, along with the aforementioned financial ones.

Myself personally, the negative aspects are much more prevalent to me. During my time at the University of Manitoba there was a referendum on whether to come up with a obligatory package for public transportation to be supported by all students. I simply can\’t get past the fact that it should not be considered fair for a minor majority of students to trample the rights of a big minority and take money out of their wallets to subsidize their preferred mode of transportation. If I remember correctly, there was already a percentage of the money used from parking service fees to help offset student bus pass costs. This is still a hard sell for me despite the environmental benefits. Of course as a vehicle owner I am definitely bias.

My own distaste for specific aspects of public transportation is very likely a result of the Winnipeg pubic transit system. No matter how much money I was saving I couldn\’t justify the consistent 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.

In the instance that I had went to school in British Columbia I would possibly have a very different view of student bus passes. After a comment from a local concerning her public transportation experience, I reviewed the Vancouver area options. I was blown away by the excellent bargain 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 each 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 thorough variety of options I would presume there is a great deal of success with the program presently there.

In contrast, Winnipeg charges over $70 per month for its poor patchwork of buses. Other monthly public transportation rates for students include $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 even have a student price from the information I was able to see on their web site. The basic 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 aware of is the non-refundable tax credit available. For many people you may get a pretty good idea of how much money you should receive on your taxes by multiplying the yearly fee of your bus passes by .15 (15%). This is a good little bonus incentive for those of you who are already financially and environmentally mindful enough to use public transportation.

Having a student bus pass is a common approach to saving money when attending school. Student public transportation is crucial to any university planning to make a subsidised service to their students.

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