The only reason why UPass is cheap is because the entire student body subsidizes it. If everyone who drives opt-out, it wouldn't be any cheaper than a regular bus fare. If UPass didn't exist more people will drive to school, meaning parking lots will fill up by 8am every morning and do you really think they'll make parking cheaper just because more people are driving? Nope. But in the case of a mass transit program they'll keep it affordable even if it does increase a couple of dollars every 2nd year.
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Originally Posted by MajinHurricane
what type of bullshit elitism is that? Go fuck yourself. How about that one?
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Try seeing it from a UBC student's perspective.
You bus in to school everyday because well let's face it, parking is too expensive. You are happy with paying $20/mo for transit even if the services suck cause it's still the more affordable option.
Langara started UPass year or two back..fine every post-secondary student deserves cheaper transit fare as long as they subsidize it as a whole student body. The ridership on that one line UBC/langara students share increases but they barely increased the service. So the bus to UBC is 2/3rd full with langara students and the driver doesn't stop for you..a little annoying but whatever, just wake up another 10 min earlier if you wanna get to school on time.
Now UBC may lose its UPass program just because EVERY post-secondary school in BC is trying to get in on the program? Why would that make any sense? The way I see it, if colleges wants in, I have no problem, but they should subsidize as an entire school/student body and shouldn't affect other schools. This is barely elitism, that last line in my initial post was just me finding it humorous they changed the name Upass = Universal Pass
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Originally Posted by achiam
I have something really crazy to add to this UPass hoopla.
YEARS ago when I went to UBC, I worked part time as a parking attendant.
Wanna know the real reason the U-Pass was brought in?
-UBC and SFU built lots of luxury condo towers, which brought them revenue through development fees etc.
-GVRD says that you can build them, but net vehicular traffic must not change.
-UPass encourages more students to bus in, therefore allowing for roughly zero change or even less vehicles travelling to campus.
-GVRD approves building permits, UBC/SFU get cash from luxury developments.
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Not saying I don't believe you, but you got any source? Any reasons why GVRD would want same amount of traffic going into each campus? You have to remember there are over 40k students at UBC, and if more people bus in it really does cut down on the carbon footprint.
I think the whole condo development is a double-edged sword. I'm not sure what the case is with SFU but at UBC tons of the cash from condos actually goes back to help students like scholarships. So those that want to keep their greenspace can pay higher tuition if they want.
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Originally Posted by bing
30/month is like 100 bucks a term. just think of it as a rec fee or something
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Originally Posted by bing
btw if were gonna start bitching about $30/month for u-pass fees, might as well bring up rec fees (I've never been to the SFU gym), health benefits, student society and the rest of the list of fees you're forced to pay but mostly never use when you pay tuition.
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Exactly.
The majority of the students actually uses the Upass, unlike the athletic fee which is probably supporting less than 15% of the population (varsity teams not fees where every student can go workout for free). Athlectic fee is roughtly the same as Upass yet I see way more people bitch about subsidized transit versus subsidized athletic programs when the reality is most students take the bus.
I know there's quite a few frugal students that drive to school on here..c'mon fess up..how are you planning to drop your car at dunbar&41st or on 4th ave and planning to bus in if U-pass doesn't exist and you have to pay $500 a semester to park on campus? Clearly you can't rely on the 'Where can I park at UBC for free' thread for your entire 4 years here. Enjoy that parking tax on top of your HST tax!
