UBC Reports | Vol. 49 | No. 2 | Feb.
6, 2003
Mid-February referendum will decide the issue
By Tara Learn, AMS VP External
What are your feelings on the U-Pass? This is what the AMS
will be asking all UBC students Feb. 10-14 in the long awaited
U-Pass referendum.
You’ve probably already heard the word “U-Pass”
at some point or another, but many of you might still be wondering
exactly what it is. The Universal Transit Pass (U-Pass) will
give UBC students unlimited access to TransLink Bus, SeaBus
and SkyTrain services (all zones), discounted West Coast Express
fares, increased service and capacity on UBC routes, proposed
discounts at participating merchants, and continued access
to other UBC transportation programs. All this for a mere
$20 per month for non-UBC housing students, and $15 per month
for UBC-housing students — making the U-Pass a cheap, not
to mention sustainable, form of transportation to and from
campus.
If the U-Pass is approved in the February 2003 referendum,
UBC will join more than 60 other universities in North America
offering transportation passes including UVic, SFU, Calgary,
Western, and Guelph.
So what does this mean for UBC students? In order to make
up the cost of the U-Pass, students need to make only five
return bus trips per month (four if you’re in residence!).
So if you and your friends want to go out to a bar downtown
on Friday night, to Safeway during the week, or all the way
to campus, all you have to do is hop on the bus.
The AMS has always been extremely vigilant around the bus
service issue. What will happen when 38,000 students suddenly
have a bus pass and decide to use it? Will it suddenly become
more difficult to get on a bus because of overcrowding? TransLink
has assured us that they will do everything that they possibly
can to ensure that there are buses to accommodate all of these
students. If this referendum passes, TransLink will add an
additional 23,000 service hours to UBC. These new hours will
be concentrated on the following lines: #99, #10, #480, #41,
#43, #44, #25, #4, #49, and #258. There will also be a Service
Review and Monitoring committee made up of representatives
from the AMS, UBC and TransLink whose sole role is to ensure
that the campus is adequately serviced.
If you would like to find out more information on the U-Pass
you can check out the:
- U-Pass web site www.upass.ubc.ca
- U-Pass SUB booth (every day from 11am-2pm)
- U-Pass SUB forum (Feb. 10, 12-1pm SUB Conversation Pit)
There will be U-Pass forums and booths traveling around
campus to ensure that every student knows everything they
need to make an informed vote in the upcoming U-Pass referendum
(check out www.upass.ubc.ca
for times and locations).
If you still have questions send me an e-mail at vpexternal@ams.ubc.ca.
Make sure you come on out and VOTE in the U-Pass referendum
Feb. 10-14, 2003. See you there!
