Regina city council approves university bus pass, 9-1
Councillor Bob Hawkins lone dissenting vote
After devoting approximately one hour to its discussion and debate, Regina city council approved the universal bus pass for University of Regina students, voting 9-1 in favour of the matter.
Set to begin in the 2016 school year, the universal bus pass, also known as the U-pass, makes it mandatory for university students to pay an $80 to $90 fee each semester, which in turn gets them a city-wide transit pass valid for the whole semester.
Students who live out of town or within one kilometre of the university will be able to opt out of the program.
The lone dissenting vote on the matter was councillor Bob Hawkins, who previously served as president and vice-chancellor of the university from 2005 to 2006.
During the presentation stage of the matter, Mayor Michael Fougere had to put a stop to a heated debate that broke out between Hawkins and presenter David Vanderberg, a student at the university and the director of the Regina Green Ride Transit Network.
During Vanderberg's speech, Hawkins asked him if it's fair to have over 60 per cent of students who don't ride the bus to buy a mandatory bus pass.
The student responded by saying he thinks it is fair, because the pass gives students another transportation option.
The dissenting councillor called the U-pass a step in the wrong direction, specifically what he called the "social engineering" trying to get people out of cars.
The new bus pass will be cheaper for students than what's currently offered as a student discounted rate by Regina transit, $65.00 per month.
"It feels like we're catching up with the times," said Devon Peters, president of the school's students union.
"This city has to of course purchase five new busses, and so the timeline for that sounds like it will hopefully be within twelve months," he said.
During the meeting, council committed to buying five, forty-foot long buses for the new program, along with creating a new route in the city's southeast area and expanding coverage on existing routes.
The busses will cost approximately $2.75 million, which will come from the city's general reserve fund.
The university's students union is responsible for covering the annual operating cost for the buses, pegged at $1.676 million, according to a memorandum of intent drawn up between the city and the students union.
