After the recent U-Pass vote, The Muse journalist Timothy Parsons spoke with Jordan Wright, a member of Memorial University’s Parking and Transportation Solutions Committee to discuss the results.
How did the idea of the U-Pass come about?
The Parking and Transportation Solutions Committee explored U-Pass as an option to improve parking and transportation solutions on and around campus, following concerns expressed by students in 2015. Parking demand exceeds supply on campus and there is little to no remaining space for parking stalls and further, no intent to re-purpose existing green spaces on campus.
Memorial participated in the commissioning of a Commuting and Parking Strategies Study and a Memorial Area Traffic Study. Both studies recognized a U-Pass as an effective transportation demand management tool and the most readily available solution to alleviate student parking and commuting challenges.
What would some of the pros and cons be if the U-Pass was implemented?
U-Pass programs are designed to offer a discounted bus pass to students. A U-Pass and included service enhancements allow for expanded search areas when looking for work and affordable housing in addition to getting to campus and around the region.
Implementation of U-Pass programs across the country has increased ridership and reduced bus fares, traffic congestion, and carbon emissions in addition to significantly improving public transit networks to accommodate the needs of students.
The program could have addressed commuting challenges of students, first and foremost starting with full-time students, and could be expanded to include part-time students, faculty and staff interested in opting in.
Not every student views the program as having equal personal benefit. The administration worked closely with Metrobus to develop specific opt-out criteria to address the needs of students, consistent with other U-Pass programs across the country.
Why do you think the results were overwhelmingly negative?
After three years of discussions, research and planning, in early fall of 2018, a concerted effort was made to engage and consult with students to shape the final proposed U-Pass program. Despite a student-defined program, the result of the vote was a resounding “no”. The vote had a 56 per cent response rate of eligible voters, which points to the success of the consultation and engagement efforts. Not all students saw themselves using the U-Pass and through the vote, indicated they were not interested in an additional mandatory fee for this service.
If some changes were made to make it more appealing to students, do you think there could be another vote in the future?
Administration has concluded its work on this project. The best efforts were made to present a program to meet students’ needs. Students decisively voted not in favour of the program and as such, the university will not pursue this endeavour further. The feedback received will inform future public transit review on the needs of the student population and assist as the university continues to explore solutions to parking and transportation challenges.