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A week ago I had written about how much money it was plausible to save through public transportation. After that, I have became aware that there are a a number of different selections for student bus passes throughout 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 proceeded to go; however, shortly after finding out about the different options around Canada I thought it could be helpful to make note of the differences.

Perhaps the most controversial part of student bus passes in Canada is the power of a majority of students on quite a few campuses to make the passes mandatory. Universities which includes the University of Ottawa, the University of Victoria, Saint Mary’s University, and the University of Western Ontario have held student referendums where students decided to incorporate bus passes as part of their over-all tuition and student user fees. At Ottawa this lead to a law suit by 9 students against the University since they felt discriminated against.

Obviously this predicament has some positives and disadvantages. The very low cost of public transportation for people who use it is an indisputable bonus. For those campuses the rate was decreased to about a hundred bucks flat for the year! This is likely because of the improved volume of sales. The fact that students are required to get passes would definitely also help the overall usage rates. This has great spin-off environmental effects, along with the previously mentioned financial ones.

For me personally, the disadvantages are a lot more prevalent to me. During my time at the University of Manitoba we had a referendum on whether to put together a required bundle for public transportation to be supported by all students. I quite simply can’t get past the fact that it should not be considered realistic for a minor majority of students to trample the legal rights of a significant minority and take money out of their wallets to subsidize their preferred form of transportation. If I remember correctly, there was currently a percentage of the money used from parking fees to help counteract student bus pass costs. This is still a tough sell for me regardless of the environmental benefits. Obviously as a vehicle owner I am definitely bias.

My personal distaste for certain aspects of public transportation is likely a result of the Winnipeg pubic transit system. No matter how much money I was saving I couldn’t rationalize the consistent waste of time. The schedules were hardly ever correct, the constant disrespect of travellers, and the poor weather aspect of life in Winnipeg, was more than enough to motivate me to get my own vehicle.

If I had attended school in British Columbia I might have a very different perspective of student bus passes. After a remark from a local regarding her public transportation experience, I checked out the Vancouver area alternatives. I was blown away by the excellent bargain they got and the fact it was not subsidized by other students (this means it doesn’t penalize the students that walk, bike, or drive to school). The U-Pass (universal pass) is available to post-secondary students for the low price of $30 per 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 comprehensive variety of options I would assume there is quite a bit of success with the program there.

In contrast, Winnipeg charges over $70 per month for its poor patchwork of buses. Other monthly public transportation rates for students include $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 even have a student price from the information I was able to see on their web site. 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 aware of is the non-refundable tax credit available. For many people you may get a pretty good idea of how much money you should receive on your taxes by multiplying the yearly fee of your bus passes by .15 (15%). This is a good little bonus incentive for those of you who are already financially and environmentally mindful enough to use public transportation.

The student bus pass cost is always lower than the standard fee so this is a good strategy for saving money when attending university. Having different student bus pass options is significant to any university interested in make a subsidised service to their students.