Lower Mainland’s U-Pass program, fees set to resume in fall semester

VANCOUVER (CityNews) — While the majority of post-secondary students in the Lower Mainland will attend online classes from home, they’ll still have to pay for their mandatory U-Pass.

The fee for the U-Pass is automatically charged to students, and a three-zone transit pass costs $42.50 per term. The regular price of a pass is $177.

Students at SFU have mixed feelings about the continuation of the program amid the pandemic.

“I think it’s kind of weird that there’s not an option to opt-out of the U-Pass considering that like, 99 per cent of classes are remote right now,” says Marco Ovies.

“I mean for me, there’s not really a benefit. I’m driving everywhere if I need to go anywhere. Really, I’m at home almost all the time right now. I do see the benefit for students who still have to commute to work right now, it’s definitely cheaper.”

Cheaper could certainly be better during the COVID-19 pandemic, at a time where many people have lost their jobs and rent has become harder to pay.

“I think right now, students are suffering the most financially, they are one of the groups suffering the most financially, I think now more than ever it would be fair to give students the option to opt out of the U-Pass and some of those other fees,” Ovies says.

Another SFU student says while he understands the short-term need to cut costs, the program can only keep the price of a pass low because it’s a fee charged to all students.

“The U-Pass only happens when everybody pays into it,” says Daniel Lam.

“Even if you’re not using the U-Pass now, I think that it’s sort of a good safety net for people. “If I need to get somewhere, I’d mainly just go on my bike, but I understand it’s also an option that’s accessible to everybody. There are a lot of students as well who live away from their parents, who are going to have to depend on transit in order to get groceries or go to work.”

SFU — like other local institutions — suspended the U-Pass program over the summer.

“The majority of classes are being offered remotely. Students involved in remote courses but living outside Metro Vancouver are exempt from the U-Pass and can receive their exemption/refund with proof of address. For students enrolled in the fall semester who live in Metro Vancouver the terms and conditions are identical to those before the summer term suspension” writes Associate Registrar Steve Birnie in a statement.

UBC, Langara, BCIT, and all other participating institutions are resuming the U-Pass program in September with the same criteria for exemptions.