U-Pass more than just a bus pass

By Chris Yee [Student Affairs Bureau Chief]

Early last month, the provincial government announced they would be offering the U-Pass for $30 per month to all post-secondary institutions in September. The announcement seemed too good to be true – and in a way, it was.

To start, how are the students going to get their U-Passes? In an interview with the Runner, KSA Director of External Affairs Matt Todd stressed the importance of setting up the infrastructure on Kwantlen’s (or any other post-secondary institution’s) side to support the logistics of the U-Pass – things like printing and distributing the actual passes, opt-outs, and contracts with TransLink and the university administration.

Furthermore, differences between the campuses need to be accounted for – and this means a transportation plan that involves “more than just buses”. “The whole point of the U-Pass is helping students get to school cheaper and easier,” Todd said. “We’re going to need a lot more than a U-Pass”.

Obviously, it takes time to account for all these considerations.

Todd said that the earliest date for any school to implement this new U-Pass would be January 2011. An issue specifically concerning the KSA is the question of implementing the U-Pass opt-outs for Kwantlen students. Todd says the KSA estimates there are about 1,000 Kwantlen students who live more than a kilometre – that is, about fifteen minutes on foot – away from a bus stop.

According to Todd, fifteen minutes (corresponding to a distance of one kilometre) is the maximum amount of time transportation planners consider to be practical to spend travelling by foot.

Todd also mentioned other factors affecting the practicality of paying for the U-Pass for Kwantlen students taking 6-week programs.

Some other elements of the KSA’s U-Pass plan include an intercampus shuttle and a car sharing program for those who need a vehicle to get to class, whether because of time constraints or supplies too unwieldy to carry on the bus, as well as a fitness pass.

Todd also said the KSA wants a “toolbox of options” but also wants to “find ways of doing this without making the U-Pass [too] expensive.” In his email, Todd mentioned that he is considering Kwantlen’s U-Pass program the “multi-pass” to reflect this diversity of options.

The KSA has been engaging in collecting student feedback in support of this goal, having used feedback posters early this semester and during the Canada Day events earlier this month.

While posters used early this semester were to collect suggestions from students, the posters used during the Canada Day events contained a variety of choices that had been narrowed down in the planning process, which students from each of the campuses could indicate their support by placing stickers on the poster (they could also continue to suggest additional ideas, as well).

The KSA also attended a meeting with TransLink, the Ministry of Transportation, and “all Metro Vancouver schools” on June 25th to work on the U-Pass contract – including working on tying the price of the U-Pass to service levels (as is the case at SFU), an issue that concerns not just the KSA but the rest of the post-secondary institutions in the meeting as well.

“The regional U-Pass contract continues to be a work-in-progress that all schools are anxiously trying to complete as quickly as possible, while being careful to not rush into something that we could regret in years to come,” said Todd.