Public Transit is Bigger Than You
March 28th, 2007 by AndrewI read about an interesting debate happening at the University of Waterloo over the implementation of a $50 non-refundable universal bus pass for all students. I was a little bit surprised at how heated the discussion was, and I got to thinking. I’m not familiar with Waterloo’s geography, so I’m coming at this from a Toronto perspective and will generalize it even further, but frankly, I haven’t got a whole lot of sympathy for any naysayers. You can correct me if I’m wrong.
If you can afford a car to get around, good for you. If you can walk or bike everywhere, even better. In either case, however, a healthy public transit system does a lot to benefit you, because it benefits everyone. I’ve heard some silly discussions about the environmental detriments that a universal bus pass would produce - i.e. that no one who drives would give up the convenience, and that it would encourage walkers to take the bus instead (ultimately irrelevant, since the bus would be running anyway, I suppose). Maybe I’m just pragmatic, but looking at depreciation, gas, maintenance, and insurance, there’s a huge chunk of change to be saved for leaving behind the car, especially if I’m paying for a bus pass as part of my tuition. If even a few drivers give up their car for the bus, not only does it take the emissions from those cars off the road, but it means less traffic and congestion for those who still drive. Both parties benefit. As the Onion notes, 98 Percent of U.S. Commuters Favour Public Transportation For Others.
Environmentalism aside, however, a strong public transit system is at the heart of any healthy urban community. The ability for everybody, not just the privileged (monetarily and physically - it’s hard to walk or bike if you’re elderly or disabled), to get around a city is crucial. I know in particular, living in the poor West end, the Toronto transit system is invaluable for a lot of people around here. Without effective public transit, you cut off entire communities from the rest of the city - downtown culture, job options, and everything else that comes with mobility. Great if you want to sweep the problem under the rug, but not if you want a healthy, diverse, engaging community. A reliable lump-sum source of income from thousands of university students represents a serious cash infusion for a small transit system, and seriously benefits the public as a result. Students may not like to think so, but you are a part of the community, too.
Getting to school aside, a bus pass is also great for getting somewhere in a pinch. Like home from the bar. You can argue they aren’t academic expenses, but being a student is about way more than just going to school. $50 a term is a pretty paltry amount of money in the long run, and a little bit of negative reinforcement might just work wonders in making more people think about the bigger ramifications for social good.
March 29th, 2007 at 11:29 am
Guelph has had a bus pass included with student fees since I’ve been here anyway (since 2004), and I must say this is an awesome system. Every student gets a unlimited transit for 50 bucks a semester. That is half the cost of a textbook, or half the cost of a ONE MONTH TTC pass. Of course the inevitable bitching from students who drive to school occurs, but this system is here to stay. Everyone gets transit without worrying about paying a fare, Guelph Transit gets guaranteed revenue at the beginning of the year to spend as they see fit, and the contract the CSA (our student government) signs with the transit authority means students get a far greater say in how the system is operated than we would otherwise.
Two brief recent examples: first, last year a bus driver got punched in the face (broken bones, a serious bunch) by some fucktard from London, and all bus service after 12:30 was then canceled. With intense lobbying by the CSA, that late night service is now restored. Secondly, bus service this semester was absolutely terrible for a while (15 minute trips were around 60-90 mins), so student pressure convinced the municipal government to pass out extra funding to get more buses running for the second half of the semester. Neither of these cases would have been resolved as fast (if at all) if every student didn’t hold a bus pass, and if students had to buy them individually (and I’m sure almost everyone would) the costs would definitely increase. So good on Waterloo, this plan not only works, it is the shit.
March 29th, 2007 at 5:20 pm
They’ve had it in Vancouver for a few years, too. Except that it’s only available for UBC, Simon Fraser, and… I think one other school. I don’t know. Suffice it to say, the Emily Carr Kids, myself included, were royally peeved. I guess because we are a smaller school we don’t deserve (almost) free transit - even though the school is so small that there is no on-campus housing.
April 5th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
They’re looking at implementing the UPass at U of T (St. George), and have already done so at UTM.
Incidentally, for those living in the poor East end of Toronto (read: Scarborough), public transit is garbage. While the west end has the Bloor line extending all the way to the border of Mississauga, the east end subway stops at Kennedy (which is pretty much two stops past the border of Scarborough). By analogy, it should extend up to the border of Pickering, or at the very embarrassingly least up to Scarborough Town Centre. When I read about (now-aborted?) plans to extend the subway past Downsview up to York and the hinterlands beyond, I was furious. Scarborough is as much a part of Toronto as North York, East York, or Etobicoke, and deserves similar access to acceptable public transit. This is especially true with the crummy RT system about to die.