U‑Pass preserved

Fees for the U-Pass go up $17 to $134.

Dalhousie will be sticking with its U-Pass bus program for full-time students—but with a fee increase to $135 that will apply this current academic year.

The move, approved by Dalhousie’s Board of Governors, is in response to HRM council’s decision this summer to increase the per-unit fee that universities pay to take part in the program. Citing increased operating costs, HRM raised the fee from $117 to $134 per student. (Dalhousie adds a $1 administrative fee to help facilitate the program.) The decision caused significant controversy at the time because it was communicated after most Halifax universities had set their yearly fees. There was talk of the program itself being in jeopardy.

Though Metro Transit agreed to distribute U-Passes this fall, they also began negotiations with the universities on making up the difference. The choice before Dalhousie’s Board of Governors and the Dalhousie Student Union on Monday was between abandoning the program or to determining how best to address the increase: whether to have this year’s students pay the extra $17, or ask next year’s students to pay the difference on top of the $135 fee.

“As students, we really don’t want to walk away from the U-Pass, or to ask future students to pay the difference,” explained Chris Saulnier, DSU president. Along these lines, DSU council voted unanimously to support the fee increase this year.

“We think it’s a really important service to students,” he added.

The U-Pass program provides bus passes to all undergraduate and graduate full-time students at Dalhousie for use during the academic year. Students at SMU, MSVU, the University of King’s College and NSCAD University also take part in the program. Even with the increase, the program offers significant savings over purchasing a monthly MetroPass (eight months of which would cost a student $512). In a 2004 survey conducted by Student Services, 74 per cent of students were in favor of the program.

The $17 difference will be collected from students in January 2011 as part of the normal fee assessment process. Students starting their full-time studies in the winter will pay a pro-rated fee of $67.50 for the term, up from $59.

EDITOR'S NOTE: We got our math wrong. This story originally stated the increase was $27, when it is, in fact, $17. We apologize for the error.