A while back I wrote about how much money it was plausible to save by taking public transportation. Since then, I have became aware that there are a a number of varying options for student bus passes across the country. The example I used of the pass in Winnipeg ended up being roughly average, so that’s fine as far as the comparison went; however, shortly after finding out about various options across Canada I thought it may be interesting to note the differences.

Possibly the most controversial aspect of student bus passes in Canada is the power of a majority of college students on some campuses to make the passes mandatory. Universities such as the University of Ottawa, the University of Victoria, Saint Mary’s University, and the University of Western Ontario have organized student referendums where students decided to add bus passes together with their all around tuition and student user fees. At Ottawa this led to a law suit by 9 students against the University felt discriminated against.

Obviously this dilemma has some positives and drawbacks. The really low cost of public transportation for many who use it is an unquestionable incentive. On those campuses the rate was lowered to about a 100 bucks flat for the year! This is very likely because of the boosted volume of sales. The fact that students are forced to get passes would definitely also benefit the overall usage rates. This has excellent spin-off environmental effects, along with the previously mentioned financial ones.

For me personally, the disadvantages are far more prevalent to me. During my time at the University of Manitoba we had a referendum on whether to come up with a mandatory package for public transportation to be supported by all students. I quite frankly can not get past the fact that it shouldn’t be considered realistic for a negligible majority of students to trample the legal rights of a huge minority and take money out of their wallets to subsidize their chosen mode of transportation. If I remember correctly, there was already a percentage of the money used from parking service fees to help counteract student bus pass costs. This is still a tough sell for me regardless of the environmental benefits. Naturally as a vehicle owner I am definitely bias.

My personal distaste for specific aspects of public transportation is most likely a result of the Winnipeg pubic transit system. Regardless of how much money I was saving I couldn’t rationalize the constant waste of time. The schedules were hardly ever correct, the constant disrespect of travellers, and the horrible weather aspect of life in Winnipeg, was more than enough to motivate me to get my own vehicle.

However, if I had attended school in British Columbia I would possibly have a very different perspective of student bus passes. After a remark from a local pertaining to her public transportation experience, I reviewed the Vancouver area possibilities. I was amazed by the wonderful deal 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 each month. The really great part of the deal is that this doesn’t just cover the bus, but the Seabus and SkyTrain services as well! With such a extensive variety of options I would assume there is a reasonable amount of success with the program presently there.

In contrast, Winnipeg charges over $70 monthly for its sloppy patchwork of buses. Other monthly public transportation rates for students consist of $89 for a metro pass in Toronto, $41 in Montreal for a merged 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 have been able to see on their site. The basic adult rate there for a monthly bus pass is $90.

One more thing for people (not just students) who use bus passes should be aware of is the non-refundable tax credit available. For most people you may get a pretty good idea of how much money you should receive on your taxes by multiplying the annual price of your bus passes by .15 (15%). This is a wonderful little reward incentive for people who are already financially and environmentally mindful enough to use public transportation.

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