Comments on: Guelph Transit wants to scrap their U-Pass http://www.tritag.ca/blog/2009/12/07/guelph-transit-wants-to-scrap-their-u-pass/ Walking, Cycling, and Transit in the Tri-Cities Wed, 16 May 2012 13:41:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Aiden Danko http://www.tritag.ca/blog/2009/12/07/guelph-transit-wants-to-scrap-their-u-pass/comment-page-1/#comment-10 Aiden Danko Thu, 10 Dec 2009 07:09:30 +0000 http://www.tritag.ca/?p=355#comment-10 So Bob since you have to use the transit system and student's riding it affects you the pass should be scrapped? Since when do high school students have to shell 6 thousand dollars out of their pocket? There is plenty of reason a U of G student shouldn't pay the same as a high school student, there costs are about 6000 times larger. It still costs students to ride from one stop to the next since we pay per semester. The rate is reduced because we are paying so much already for school. When high school students pay 6 thousand dollars to go to school then they can have equal rates for bus passes. We already make Guelph transit 2.2 million a year I would be interested to know what high school and other riders contribute. Your view is extremely one sided. As a result of a personal inconvenience tens of thousands of students should have to find another way to get to campus? I know I can't afford an extra 300 dollars a semester to do it and due to having flat feet I am unable to walk to distance required without massive joint pain and tendinitis in my knees. You are saying because you are inconvenienced I have to walk? So Bob since you have to use the transit system and student’s riding it affects you the pass should be scrapped? Since when do high school students have to shell 6 thousand dollars out of their pocket? There is plenty of reason a U of G student shouldn’t pay the same as a high school student, there costs are about 6000 times larger. It still costs students to ride from one stop to the next since we pay per semester. The rate is reduced because we are paying so much already for school.

When high school students pay 6 thousand dollars to go to school then they can have equal rates for bus passes.

We already make Guelph transit 2.2 million a year I would be interested to know what high school and other riders contribute.
Your view is extremely one sided. As a result of a personal inconvenience tens of thousands of students should have to find another way to get to campus? I know I can’t afford an extra 300 dollars a semester to do it and due to having flat feet I am unable to walk to distance required without massive joint pain and tendinitis in my knees. You are saying because you are inconvenienced I have to walk?

]]> By: Sylvan Mably http://www.tritag.ca/blog/2009/12/07/guelph-transit-wants-to-scrap-their-u-pass/comment-page-1/#comment-9 Sylvan Mably Wed, 09 Dec 2009 03:26:32 +0000 http://www.tritag.ca/?p=355#comment-9 Thanks for your comment. Overcrowding is a problem here in Waterloo as well, partly because of student ridership, so I understand your frustration. But I would suggest that the solution to overcrowding is service improvements, not restricting ridership by making transit more expensive. Also, it's important to note that students as a group are paying less per term, but the U-Pass is not a subsidy for students. The pass is cheap because students take fewer trips than other pass holders. In fact, 7000 students every term don't even pick up their bus pass sticker, and many of the students who do use the pass use it only infrequently. So, in theory, U-Pass holders pay the same amount <em>per trip</em> as other riders. If U-Pass holders are currently paying less than other users, the solution is to raise the price of the pass so they are no longer subsidized. Thanks for your comment. Overcrowding is a problem here in Waterloo as well, partly because of student ridership, so I understand your frustration. But I would suggest that the solution to overcrowding is service improvements, not restricting ridership by making transit more expensive.

Also, it’s important to note that students as a group are paying less per term, but the U-Pass is not a subsidy for students. The pass is cheap because students take fewer trips than other pass holders. In fact, 7000 students every term don’t even pick up their bus pass sticker, and many of the students who do use the pass use it only infrequently. So, in theory, U-Pass holders pay the same amount per trip as other riders. If U-Pass holders are currently paying less than other users, the solution is to raise the price of the pass so they are no longer subsidized.

]]> By: Bob McMullen http://www.tritag.ca/blog/2009/12/07/guelph-transit-wants-to-scrap-their-u-pass/comment-page-1/#comment-8 Bob McMullen Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:51:40 +0000 http://www.tritag.ca/?p=355#comment-8 You should ask non-student users of transit how they feel on this subject. I for one use Guelph Transit to get to from work at the University of Guelph. As a permanent citizen I have seen tax increases in the last two years explicitly to help fund Guelph Transit (totaling over 2% of my property taxes). My fare has also increased from $2.00 to 2.50 and is rumoured to be going up another 7% or 8%. These tax and fare increases are things I will need to live with forever as I don't have plans to leave town as most students do after 3 or 4 years when they finish their program. The route I use to get from my house to the downtown transfer point has no problems with overcrowding or timeliness. The routes that I can use to get from the transfer point to the university (and back at the end of the day) are a different story. I have been left standing at the curb as all the buses drive by with the "sorry bus full" sign on 4-6 times per semester for the last 2 to 3 years. Delays caused by extended stops while people board and try to get off the congested aisles of overcrowded buses cause late arrivals downtown and missed transfers (which means a 20 minute delay), making the service very unreliable to someone trying to keep a schedule. There's no reason U of G students shouldn't pay as much for a pass as high school students do now. At that price you wouldn't be able to have a universal pass which may cause a drop in riders but loosing a quarter of UG riders would still result in more revenue coming in than they now collect - and buses wouldn't be so full that people would be left standing at a stop waiting 20 minutes for the next bus (and hoping they didn't all drive by again). Students get on the bus and ride a few stops and get off, why not it - doesn't cost them anymore. Except it causes overcrowding and people like me that don't board at the University Center don't get picked up because the bus is full. If they had to pay a realistic fare, they would either walk the small distance or they would be paying a fare that can be used to sustain and enhance the system. You should ask non-student users of transit how they feel on this subject. I for one use Guelph Transit to get to from work at the University of Guelph. As a permanent citizen I have seen tax increases in the last two years explicitly to help fund Guelph Transit (totaling over 2% of my property taxes). My fare has also increased from $2.00 to 2.50 and is rumoured to be going up another 7% or 8%. These tax and fare increases are things I will need to live with forever as I don’t have plans to leave town as most students do after 3 or 4 years when they finish their program. The route I use to get from my house to the downtown transfer point has no problems with overcrowding or timeliness. The routes that I can use to get from the transfer point to the university (and back at the end of the day) are a different story. I have been left standing at the curb as all the buses drive by with the “sorry bus full” sign on 4-6 times per semester for the last 2 to 3 years. Delays caused by extended stops while people board and try to get off the congested aisles of overcrowded buses cause late arrivals downtown and missed transfers (which means a 20 minute delay), making the service very unreliable to someone trying to keep a schedule. There’s no reason U of G students shouldn’t pay as much for a pass as high school students do now. At that price you wouldn’t be able to have a universal pass which may cause a drop in riders but loosing a quarter of UG riders would still result in more revenue coming in than they now collect – and buses wouldn’t be so full that people would be left standing at a stop waiting 20 minutes for the next bus (and hoping they didn’t all drive by again). Students get on the bus and ride a few stops and get off, why not it – doesn’t cost them anymore. Except it causes overcrowding and people like me that don’t board at the University Center don’t get picked up because the bus is full. If they had to pay a realistic fare, they would either walk the small distance or they would be paying a fare that can be used to sustain and enhance the system.

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