Giving everyone a chance to ride

Just my luck, talk of seriously getting a U-Pass at the U of W comes in my last year as a student here. Still, for the sake of the environment as well as the wallets of current and future students, I have to say I’m excited.

At an unofficial UWSA Sustainability meeting today, planning was underway for a fresh go at a U-Pass at our fine school.  Many Canadian universities have the program already.

For those who don’t know, a U-Pass is a beautiful little bus pass that entitles all students to ride the Winnipeg Transit System all year for a mandatory yearly fee much lower than the cost of monthly transit passes. At least, that’s the hope.

The proposal was shot down by the UWSA in the past as the cost was too high. This time around, UWSA and on-campus environmental groups are working to find ways to reduce the price, such as collaboration with other post-secondary institutions and outside funding. But when a fee is applied to every student, this is an important issue to consider - is it fair?

As an avid transit rider, I say Yeah! Of course! Awesome!

As an impartial observer, I can certainly understand how students that do not depend on transit would be more than a little upset at yet another fee being tacked on to their rising university costs.

To justify a U-Pass:

a. it has to be really, really cheap

b. public transit has to be effective enough to offer every student what they need

c. we have to understand it idealistically: It’s for the greater good! Our planet cannot handle the environmental effect of so many single passenger vehicles. Thus, we need to support changes that promote a lot of people using mass transit at a low cost, despite the few who may be left in the lurch.

d. any combination of the above (hopefully all of them)

Still, as much as I am an idealistic person, I realize option c may just not mesh with reality. What about the people—low income students—who bike or walk? Those are perfectly viable enviro options.  What about those who have no choice but to commute by car due to completely crappy transit service? I guess option b is out…

How can everyone get where they need to go in a way that is cheap, time efficient and easy on the earth? There’s got to be a way…

I’m excited to see what the renewed U-Pass campaign will bring.