COVID-19 puts U-pass future in some doubt
Post-secondary students seek clarity on transit passes as September nears
With just a month to go until school starts, post-secondary students in Metro Vancouver are still wondering if the universal transit pass will return for the fall semester.
Students at 10 public post-secondary institutions pay $41 per month for the U-pass — which gives them access to buses, Seabus and Skytrain and a discount on the West Coast Express — as part of their student fees.
The program was temporarily suspended on May 1 in response to schools closing and classes going online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and will remain suspended until the end of August. Post-secondary institutions issued refunds for April fees to students who did not use their pass for more than $41 in stored value travel.
Translink estimates that as of the end of June it had lost $15.5 million in revenues from the U-pass program.
Samad Raza, co-chair of the U-pass B.C. Advisory Committee and vice-president of external relations for the Simon Fraser Student Society, said student unions across the region that participate in the program have been working with Translink to figure out when the program might resume.
“While no decisions have been made yet, all parties are committed to the long-term success and continuation of the U-pass B.C. program and are working together to determine next steps,” Raza said in an email.
A Translink spokesperson said the transit authority is working with schools and the provincial government on what could happen in the fall.
As part of the third phase of B.C.’S restart plan, if transmission rates remain low or in decline, post-secondary institutions will begin a mix of online and in-class learning in the fall.
The University of B.C., for example, plans to offer larger classes online and selected smaller classes in person while adhering to physical distancing and other public health recommendations and orders. At
Simon Fraser University, most classes will be delivered remotely.
That change in class delivery is something student societies are considering when discussing the U-pass.
“Especially in a big school like UBC, you have a lot of students who live in the Lower Mainland who need the U-pass, but you also have a lot of students who do not reside in the Lower Mainland or who have returned home to other cities in Canada or internationally who wouldn’t be able to access the service,” said UBC Alma Mater Society president Cole Evans.
“What we’re looking to do is work with Translink to come up with a solution that addresses these needs so students who need to access the program can access it, and students who are unable to access the program are also taken care of.”
Student societies at UBC, SFU and the B.C. Institute of Technology have said they hope to have decisions made about the program in the coming weeks.
Although the program’s future is up in the air, students are being warned that the U-pass fee of $42.50 per month, or $170 per term, will appear on their accounts for the fall term. If the pass remains suspended, that fee will be refunded to those who have paid.
That is no consolation to students such as Candace Clarke, who is studying mechanical engineering at BCIT. She doesn’t want to see herself and others paying for a service they won’t use in the fall.
Clarke, who is going into her third year, doesn’t usually take transit and will be doing all of her courses online in September. With a tuition increase of $500 coming her way for the fall semester and no prospect of using the transit pass, the mother of two said every little bit counts when it comes to the family budget.
“I can’t use it and it’s fine to pay it any other time of the year, but now I’m stuck at home for this term in the fall, but I’m still paying these U-pass fees,” she said.