BACKGROUND

Throughout Canada there has been growing interest among post secondary students in a universal transit pass program (U-Pass).  A U-Pass program requires all members of a student group, such as full-time undergraduates, to pay a common student transit fee that gives them unlimited access to transit for the semester or school year.  The fee is included in the student activity fees and is lower than the cost of buying a student pass each month or using tickets and cash because the cost of transit is spread across the entire student body.  U-Pass programs typically involve mandatory participation by virtually all students with little or no opportunity for students to opt out of the program.

Twenty-one post secondary schools in Canada that now offer U-Pass programs are listed in Exhibit 1.

U-Pass programs are generally set to be revenue and cost neutral.  The price of the U-Pass should be set to recover all current transit fare revenue that the student body generates and cover the costs of administering the program.  Some transit properties that have U-Pass programs include the cost of additional service to handle the expected growth in transit use.  As shown in Exhibit 1, the monthly price for U-Passes varies from place to place, reflecting differences in transit usage and the costs to provide service, from a low of $4.94 in Kingston to a high of $29.61 in Peterborough.

There has been interest in implementing U-Pass programs from the post secondary schools in Ottawa. Over the past 18 months, staff have worked with the school administrations and student associations at Carleton University, the University of Ottawa, Algonquin College and La Cité Collégiale to determine the feasibility of a U-Pass program for each school.  This feasibility primarily rests on the price to be charged for the U-pass.

This memorandum provides an update on these discussions and the status of the U-Pass at each school.

Students from Carleton University have recently approached staff with a request to explore the viability of introducing a semester pass.  This report also provides an up-date on that initiative.

Currently the cost of a regular student bus pass in Ottawa is $51.75, representing a 22% discount on the $63 regular adult pass. A further discount of 20% is applied on annual student passes, reducing the monthly cost to $41.40.

DISCUSSION

U-Pass

Process

Staff initially made contact with the administrations and student associations of each school in February 2003 to explain the U-Pass concept, determine their interest and see what steps would need to be followed at each school to implement a program.  Prior to this contact, staff met with the Société de Transport de l’Outaouais (STO) and formed an alliance so that any U-Pass would be a joint OC Transpo/STO pass and would provide seamless travel to students who need to use both transit systems.

In all cases, before implementing a U-pass program, a favourable student referendum would need to be passed and then the school administration would have to approve the program, since the eventual cost of the U-Pass would be included in the student activity fees at each school. Generally, if the referendum passes, the school administration should approve the program. 

The price of the U-Pass is dependent on the current transit revenue levels generated by students now using transit at each post-secondary institution.  The higher the transit modal share, the higher the revenues and the higher the U-Pass price would have to be to achieve revenue neutrality.  In order to determine these revenue levels, a survey was conducted at each post-secondary institution.  Decima Research was retained to assist staff in developing the survey and they recommended that an internet-based survey be used.  To assist in getting the best response rate possible, a draw for a $500 gift certificate from the bookstore at each school was offered.  The prize was provided either by the school administration or the administration and the student association.

The prime purpose of the survey was to gather data on the frequency of transit use of students, for both school and non-school related trips, and identify how students paid for these trips.  This information was collected for a good weather week (e.g. September/October) and a bad weather week (e.g. January/February).  This information was then extrapolated to represent the entire student body revenue base over the eight-month school year and then finally the U-Pass price per month was calculated for each school.

As well as asking about transit travel patterns, the survey sought information that would assist each school in administering their own Transportation Demand Management (TDM) plan.  For example, if the respondent identified that they drove to school, then they were asked if they carpooled.  Those who drove were also asked where they parked and how much they paid for parking.

Surveys were conducted at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa in October 2003, at Algonquin College in February 2004 and at La Cité Collégiale in October 2004.

Status At Each School

Carleton University

With the introduction of the O-Train and the improvement in service offered to Carleton, the number of students using transit has grown over the past few years.  This was reflected in the survey results.  When students were asked for their primary mode of travel to and from school, 60% identified transit.  Furthermore, over 80% of students said they had used transit at least once in the past seven days to travel to school, to get to social events or to attend to errands.  This high transit use resulted in a breakeven U-Pass price of $43 per month.

This information was presented to the school parties and the students association decided the price was too high to put to a referendum vote.  They were concerned that those who did not use transit would be paying an additional $172 per semester.  The students were expecting a price of approximately $25 per month and felt that a price in this range would have had a reasonable chance of passing a referendum vote.  As a result of the decision not to put the U-Pass question to a vote, no further staff action is planned for implementing a U-Pass at Carleton University.

University of Ottawa

With the Transitway right on its doorstep, there is excellent transit service to the university from all parts of the city.  Similar to Carleton, this was reflected in the survey results.  Just under 60% of students said their primary mode of travel to and from school was transit and over 80% had used transit at least once in the last week.  This high transit use resulted in a price of $43 per month for the U-Pass to achieve revenue neutrality.  The students association felt this price was too high and decided not to go forward with a referendum vote.  Like Carleton, they were expecting a price in the vicinity of $25 per month.  Without a referendum, no further action is planned to implement a U-Pass at University of Ottawa.

Algonquin College

The Transitway’s Baseline Station is a major entry point for Algonquin students and this was borne out by the survey.  Transit was indicated as the primary mode of travel to and from school by 52% of students and 73% said they had used transit at least once in the past seven days.  The revenue neutral price for the U-Pass was determined to be $37.  Discussion has taken place with the school administration and a meeting is planned with the students’ association to determine their interest in going forward with a referendum vote.

La Cité Collégiale

The survey of La Cité Collégiale students, the last to be done, was carried out this past October.  Of all the schools, La Cité Collégiale is the only one that is not adjacent to a Transitway or O-Train station and as such does not receive as good a level of transit service as the other schools. Despite this, transit use is quite high and could well be explained by the fact that students at the school are much younger than students at the other schools.  The survey results showed that 39% of students used transit as their primary mode to go to school and 66% said they had used transit at least once in the past week.  The price of the U-Pass would need to be set at $35 to protect current revenue levels.  These results were presented to school administrators and the students’ association in early December.  The students association will be discussing the project at their board meeting in late January and a potential decision may be made on whether to go ahead with a referendum vote in March, as part of the annual student association elections.

Next Steps

As both Carleton University and University of Ottawa decided not to proceed with a student referendum question, no further action is planned to implement a U-Pass at these schools.  Staff will continue to work with Algonquin College and La Cité Collégiale towards implementing a U-Pass program.  A report will be brought to Committee later in the year.

Semester Pass

We have recently been approached by the Carleton University Students’ Association about the possibility of making a semester pass available.  Their proposal is attached as Appendix A.

We have had a preliminary meeting with the students and agreed to work with them to determine what the price of a semester pass should be.  The price would take into account that the school semesters ramp up in April and January and ramp down in December and April.

The idea of a student pass appears promising and, as the next step, the student representatives are investigating the possibility of carrying out a random-sample survey to determine the use of transit fare instruments by students throughout the semester.  Staff will report to Committee on the results of this survey later in the year.

Original signed by:

R.T. Leclair

Att

EXHIBIT 1

XHIBIT 2 Universal transit pass programs in Canada

APPENDIX A

Public Transportation Partnership

OC Transpo-Carleton University

Goal:   To develop a long-term partnership with OC Transpo and other universities and students’ associations in Ottawa.  This partnership shall serve as a mechanism to ensure that the needs of students in public transport are represented at all levels, and that OC Transpo increases its ridership and revenue.

The Transportation Master Plan has developed the goal of reducing car usage and increasing public transportation alternatives.  The following methods will further student initiatives and involvement.

Methods:

1.      Student Representation on Advisory Committee:

The OC Transpo Advisory Committee currently has one student on its panel.  However, this seat should be a permanent, guaranteed space in which students can voice their concerns.  The student should be nominated by their students’ union, and the seat rotate from year to year between the major post-secondary institutions.  This students would have direct contact with the students’ unions to ensure information transfers, and full representation of the students.

2.      Semester Bus Pass:

This would include offering students a bus pass by semester (four months) or for the school year (eight months) with the same percentage reduction as the annual bus pass.[i]  This better serves those students who do not remain in Ottawa for the summer, but who will use public transportation throughout the year.  It offers students a less expensive alternative than the current monthly bus pass, but would not have as great of an impact on OC Transpo revenues as the reduced monthly bus pass proposed in option 2.  In fact, due to the likelihood that a greater number of students would purchase a semester pass as opposed to an annual, OC Transpo would receive greater and more stable revenue through this proposal.

These are two steps on the path to greater communication between students’ unions and the City of Ottawa.  It may eventually lead to greater promotion of services on campus, and a greater understanding of the special needs of students.  This partnership has many possibilities, and we wish to explore all of them with you. 

Thank you for your time,

Lindsay Mossman

Vice-President Student Issues

Carleton University Students’ Association

[i] Figure 1.0:  OC Transpo Fares and Semester Pass