A Closer Look at Mandatory Student Transit Fees
Photo by Eden Conti.
Every semester, UVic students are involuntarily charged for a U-Pass, whether they take the bus daily or never at all. As long as a student is enrolled in at least one on-campus course, an $81 fee is automatically added to their tuition, allowing them unlimited travel on BC Transit buses for that semester using the UMO app or card. However, this compulsory fee unfairly forces students who do not travel by bus to subsidize the cost for others, and thereby violates their consumer choice.
UVic’s contract with BC Transit allows for a few limited options for opting-out, presumably to ensure the program remains viable. Without required participation, purchases of U-Passes would likely drop significantly, which may present financial challenges for the program.
Although this subsidized system may seem reasonable, it fails to acknowledge the many students who cannot or choose not to travel by BC Transit. Students who live too far from bus routes, walk or bike to campus, or primarily take online classes are a few examples of people who will not utilize the U-Pass system they involuntarily purchased. Yet, they still pay the same amount. Furthermore, the 2023 UVic Transportation Survey revealed that automobile drivers accounted for 46 per cent of daily trips to campus, while transit ridership made up 26 per cent.
While it is true that some students who primarily drive, bike, or walk to campus may use BC Transit for other travel, those students must still pay the same amount as students who utilize the service daily. Being enrolled in an on-campus course is the only guideline for the automatic U-Pass; this system regards all students as equal BC Transit users, and does not consider varying frequencies of bus travel. Because the U-Pass doesn’t differentiate between different levels of use or need, it unfairly forces non or less-participatory students to fund other students’ transit.
Moreover, the opt-out options for the U-Pass are scarce and inadequate, with criteria that are nearly impossible to fulfill. Students who already receive a bus pass from the government or another institution, students with disabilities, and students in courses shorter than two weeks can opt out of the program, provided they supply the required documentation.
Past these allowances, the logic behind the U-Pass system becomes murky. Students living and working outside the Greater Victoria BC Transit Service Area may opt out, but only if they are enrolled in only one class. If that student is taking two or more courses, there is no escape from the mandatory charge. The logic behind this regulation is unclear. According to these rules, the fact that a student must travel to campus more often for multiple classes somehow negates that they live outside the transit service area.
Moreover, students driving to campus also have to pay for parking, which is $79 per month. These students are unfairly charged for two forms of transportation when realistically, they only use one. The U-Pass system is designed to promote sustainability by reducing individual vehicle emissions, but in doing so, it violates students’ consumer choice rights.
Students have a right to choose what services they pay for. The UVic U-Pass system violates this choice by forcing students to pay for a service they may not need or want. This one-size-fits-all system is unfair, especially considering transit ridership only makes up 26 per cent of daily travel to campus. However, amendments could remedy this. Offering opt-out options for non-users, or redesigning a more flexible system with tiered pricing based on usage are a few ways to improve the program’s fairness.
The U-Pass system demonstrates UVic’s commendable commitment to environmentalism and accessible, sustainable transit. However, it also suggests that the university values this sustainability over individual liberties. Both individual freedoms and collective environmentalism are important, but both principles should be valued equally.
The current U-Pass system reveals that UVic prioritizes sustainability over free consumer choice, a dangerous removal of personal freedom. While a subsidized system for affordable bus transit may sound nice, this mandated charge strips consumers of the right to choose. Students should be able to freely choose the mode of transportation that best fits their needs, without being forced to pay for the one UVic prefers.
UVic’s stated values include creating an “inclusive, equitable and supportive” environment, but the mandated U-Pass system is neither equitable, as it does not consider students’ unique travel needs, nor supportive, as it charges students for something they may not be able to, or want to, use.
UVic students are unjustly forced to subsidize the public transit system, even if they don’t set foot on a bus all year. In my view, this system is outdated and unfair for many students. UVic should redesign the U-Pass system to better accommodate the varied ways students travel to campus.
