Hundreds of post-secondary students from across the Lower Mainland skipped class yesterday and united at Victory Square to demand a collective monthly fee for a transit U-Pass. Displaying five hand-painted fifteen-foot banners and waving placards, the assembly boisterously addressed Gordon Campbell.
"A $25 U-Pass for all Metro Vancouver students," chanted the assembly in a live video message to be sent to the premier.
City Councillors Geoff Meggs and Ellen Woodsworth were also on hand to lend their support.
"[This movement] is about inclusion," Meggs said, before proclaiming Oct. 21 "U-Pass Day" on behalf of Mayor Gregor Robertson. "It means [students] are riding on the bus to where [they] need to go."
Currently, the cost of the U-Pass varies from $23.75 a month for UBC students to $38 a month for Langara students. Emily Carr University, Vancouver Community College, and Douglas College are a few of the institutions not yet enrolled following failed negotiations with TransLink.
TransLink determines an institution's U-Pass fee based on the net revenue it believes it generates from that particular institution. For smaller schools with fewer students, this often means a higher price tag.
Nimmi Takkar, a spokesperson for the OnePassNow campaign, said this system of revenue neutrality is out of touch with student needs.
But TransLink spokesperson Judy Rudin said it's not possible to issue a common $25 a month U-Pass without further financial support.
