THUNDER BAY – University and college students will see their universal bus passes punched with a five-year extension, which is seen as “quite a deal” by one city councillor.
City council on Monday night voted in favour of proposed agreements with the student unions representing scholars at Lakehead University and Confederation College to extend the U-Pass, which provides access to bus service at a discounted rate for students compared to buying monthly passes while generating significant revenue for Thunder Bay Transit.
The pass, which is automatically included in student fees and can only be opted out if the student lives outside of the transit service area, was introduced in 2007 at a cost of $70 per student. The cost increased marginally over the following years, climbing to $95 for the 2015-2016 school year.
The cost for the coming academic year will be $126, up from $102.50 last year. Throughout the rest of the agreement the fee will rise $22 per year, hitting $214 for the 2021-2022 year.
While there was some opposition voiced by members of the student bodies, nearly 82 per cent of Lakehead University students who voted in the online referendum cast the ballot in favour of continuing the agreement. Confederation College students voted 65 per cent in favour of the deal.
Brad Loroff, manager of transit, last week said U-Pass users account for about 30 per cent of general transit users.
“From a pricing perspective, you need to make sure the program is collecting the revenue that is really paying for the service,” Loroff said. “The agreed to pricing in this new contract does that.”
Transit officials and the student unions have agreed to changes in the most recent version of the deal, most notably that the pass will be valid for a 12-month period rather than the eight months of the fall and winter terms.
As well, the pass allows access to the Lift+ service for students with mobility challenges.
“Conditions have changed, our operating environment has changed, the program has changed,” Loroff said.
“We have more students using it and taking advantage of it now. Really, the pricing that is reflected with respect to the new contract is just the right pricing that’s in place to make it affordable for transit, the city itself as well as both student unions.”
According to the report to council, the estimated full-time enrolment at Lakehead this year will be 5,100 full-time students with 2,900 full-time students at the college. Based on those enrolment projections, the agreement would result in a little more than $1 million in revenue for transit.
The costs of purchasing a monthly youth pass for students under 18 would be $55 ‑ $660 for a full year – or $77 for an adult monthly pass – amounting to $924 annually.
“This is quite a deal for them regardless of escalating prices over the five years,” Coun. Andrew Foulds said.
