Last week I wrote about how much money it was possible to save through public transportation. Since that time, I have noticed that there are a many assorted alternatives for student bus passes across the country. The example I used of the pass in Winnipeg turned out to be roughly average, so that’s good as far as the comparison went; however, shortly after checking out the different options around Canada I thought it might be helpful to note the differences.

Possibly the most controversial issue of student bus passes in Canada is the power 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 organised student referendums where students decided to incorporate bus passes as part of their all around tuition and student user fees. At Ottawa this contributed to a law suit by 9 students against the University since they felt discriminated against.

Naturally this dilemma has some advantages and drawbacks. The really low cost of public transportation for those who use it is an unquestionable incentive. For those campuses the cost was reduced to close to a 100 dollars flat for the year! This is very likely because of the increasing volume of sales. The fact that students are made to get passes would also benefit the overall usage rates. This has wonderful spin-off environmental effects, together with the aforementioned financial ones.

Myself personally, the disadvantages are much more prevalent to me. During my time at the University of Manitoba we had a referendum on whether to come up with a compulsory bundle for public transportation to be supported by all students. I quite simply can not get past the fact that it should not be considered realistic for a minor majority of students to trample the rights of a massive minority and take money out of their wallets to subsidize their preferred form 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. Obviously as a vehicle owner I am definitely bias.

My own distaste for particular aspects of public transportation is most likely a result of the Winnipeg pubic transit system. It doesn’t matter how much money I was saving I couldn’t justify the consistent waste of time. The schedules were never ever correct, the constant rudeness of travellers, and the bad weather aspect of life in Winnipeg, was more than enough to inspire me to get my own car.

If I had attended school in British Columbia I would possibly have a very different view of student bus passes. After a remark from a local with regards to her public transportation experience, I researched the Vancouver area choices. I was impressed by the good bargain they got and the fact it was not subsidized by other students (this means it doesn’t punish 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 a 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 extensive variety of options I would assume there is quite a bit of success with the program there.

In comparison, Winnipeg charges over $70 a month for its shoddy patchwork of buses. Other monthly public transportation rates for students consist of $89 for a metro pass in Toronto, $41 in Montreal for a combined metro and bus pass, $71 for a student bus pass in Saskatoon, and Calgary didn’t actually have a student price from the information I was able to see on their website. 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 informed of is the non-refundable tax credit available. For some people you will get a pretty good idea of how much money you should get back on your taxes by multiplying the yearly fee of your bus passes by .15 (15%). This is a nice little bonus incentive for those of you who are already financially and environmentally conscious enough to use public transportation.

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