Charlie Taylor may not be a familiar name on Ottawa’s radar yet, but he said he’s doing everything he can to get noticed before the municipal election on Oct. 25.
Since he announced he was running for mayor of Ottawa in February, the 33-year-old Carleton journalism student has been trying to “talk about issues that nobody else is talking about.”

For Taylor, the new student transit pass (U-Pass), is one of those issues. The mandatory pass for almost all full-time Carleton students will cost $290 for the eight-month school year and is automatically included in tuition fees.

Full-time Carleton students may have noticed a jump in their tuition this year as the mandatory student bus pass (U-Pass) has come into effect.

The $290 fee was automatically included in tuition fees for full-time undergraduate students who are enrolled in at least 1.5 credits per term, while fees for graduate students are determined by their status in their program. Part-time students are not eligible.

The list of situations that allow for an exemption from the U-Pass neglects several groups of people with legitimate reasons for not taking the bus. First, students who live within walking or cycling distance to Carleton.

If the U-Pass is supposed to be about sustainability, why are the people using the most sustainable form of transport being punished?

During the 2009 election campaign, the B.C. premier promised a province-wide U-Pass for post-secondary students across B.C. by September 2010, and the province’s transportation minister has announced that promise will be honoured.

However, Benjamin Newsom, U-Pass program co-ordinator for the Kwantlen Student Association, said he has not yet announced the U-Pass news to students because at the moment he is unsure how the government will implement the plans.

According to Jeff Knight, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, the U-Pass will be available to students attending 11 of the province’s 44 institutions including University of Victoria and University of British Columbia.

“The transportation ministry is currently working with its transit partners – BC Transit and TransLink – as well as post-secondary institutions and student unions to gather information to determine how best to implement a provincial U-Pass,” Knight said. “As it gathers this information, the ministry is developing options for government to consider. 

Carleton undergraduates voted in favour of a $145 mandatory student bus pass (U-Pass) in a referendum on campus Feb. 10-11.

Of 5,068 ballots cast, 72.4 per cent were in favour of the U-Pass, and 26 per cent were against it. The remaining 81 ballots were spoiled or rejected.

The full text of the electoral violation issued by chief electoral officer Sagal Osman on Feb. 3. to the No campaign on referendum question 1, "Are you in favour of a mandatory universal bus pass for full-time undergraduate students at a cost not to exceed $145 per semester for each the Fall and Winter term, beginning in September 2010?"

Re-posted from http://www.cusaonline.com/elections.html.

 A decade-long battle for a univerisal bus pass (U-Pass) is about to be resolved by the vote of Carleton students – some for it, some against it.

On Feb. 10-11, Carleton students will vote in a referendum for or against an increase in tuition of $145 per semester, which would cover their bus passes.

Erik Halliwell, the current president of Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA), said he is in favour of the bus pass, and hopeful for a similar response from the student body.

“A couple of weeks ago, the vote passed in city council for a pilot bus pass project, and if the student response is positive, we’ll try it for a year. But the city needs that student support,” Halliwell said.

Ottawa councillors voted 22-2 Jan. 28 in support of creating a U-Pass pilot program for students at both Carleton and the University of Ottawa. President of Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) Erik Halliwell said he is pleased with the decision.

“There’s an unprecedented level of student engagement with the City of Ottawa and every single time the City of Ottawa has capitulated to students’ demands,” Halliwell said. “Students and the City of Ottawa are very united around a lot of common issues and it shows.”

The long-disputed universal bus pass (U-Pass) was brought up at a panel meeting of municipal experts at city hall Dec. 9.

The panellists at the meeting were city councillor Diane Holmes, Ottawa Citizen city columnist Randall Denley, economist and president of Embryonics David Macdonald, and Carleton professor of public affairs and policy management, Katherine Graham.

The U-Pass would offer students the convenience to ride the bus simply by showing their student ID cards. The program would be included as part of university fees, at a previously proposed rate of $145 per semester.

The city’s audit, budget and finance committee voted to eliminate the proposed funding for a university transit pass at a city council meeting Nov. 27.

Carleton University Students' Association president Erik Halliwell said this battle is far from over. 

“We will absolutely be asking council to revisit this, for sure,” Halliwell said. “This proposal would cut in half the costs for a bus pass for students.

We’re a student city, so I think that we should start treating our students a little bit better.” Halliwell said the committee likely voted no due to recession-related arguments, and the fact that it needs to budget conservatively.