U of T students vote against TTC's $70 discount transit pass
While the TTC Board approved the U-Pass for post-secondary students, actual students didn’t seem to feel the same.
Last week, the TTC approved the $70 U-Pass (Universal Pass) for students to make transit more affordable and increase ridership. The unlimited TTC travel pass is less than half the price of an adult monthly pass, but there is a catch.
In order for the U-Pass to work and be cost neutral, the participation is mandatory for all eligible students. This means, $280, the cost of the pass, is included in the post-secondary fees a student pays each semester.
And at the first U-Pass referendum, students voted against it.
According to the University of Toronto, 65.6% of voters at the downtown campus said no to the proposed transit pass, while 34% were in favour. The school says that about 12,400 students cast a ballot.
A Facebook event titled “Vote NO to the UTSU U-Pass referendum” outlined to students 12 reasons to vote against the pass.
“U-Pass will unfairly place financial burden on students who live on residence or near campus,” stated the event, adding that it “will generate additional and guaranteed revenue for the TTC.”
The vote left some student unhappy.
FYI, as someone who commutes about 4 times a week strictly via TTC I would have GREATLY benefited from the U-Pass but ya know… democracy and individualism and all that stuff is cool too
— Noah (@noahgurr17) March 29, 2018
who voted against the U-pass at u of t i just wanna talk
— A (@adrianaarec0) March 29, 2018
I am extremely disappointed in the the students decision to reject the U-Pass. Transit is a necessity for the city and getting a better deal from the TTC will be close to impossible. It is also highly unlikely that I’ll be a student if it ever does pass.
— Zachary J. Comeau (@ZComeau) March 29, 2018
The TTC had said that the cost of the U-Pass was determined based on the participation of at least one of the following schools: University of Toronto – St George; Ryerson University; OCAD University; and George Brown College.
One down, three to go.
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