For first year University of Regina student Anchal, taking the bus to school is her only option.
So, when city council voted this week to extend the U-Pass through the spring and summer months, Anchal was relieved.
“We can’t afford cabs on a daily basis.”
Since the U-Pass program came into effect three years ago there’s been significant growth in transit use.
The University of Regina students’ union (URSU) claims a 250 per cent increase in bus product sales during the spring and summer months over that time.
URSU’s operations manager Neil Middlemiss said they sold roughly $95,000 of bus products in the spring and summer of 2015, with that amount jumping to more than $330,000 in 2019.
“That shows that a lot of students are getting very accustomed to taking the bus on a regular basis,” Middlemiss said.
“We’ve also had students complain that it’s too cost-prohibitive for them to come to the university in the spring and summer because there is no U-Pass program.”
In March, students voted in favour of a spring and summer pass, 1844 for it, 323 against it.
The university charges a mandatory nominal fee for the U-Pass to students taking at least one class a semester. Those who live on or near campus and outside of the city have the ability to opt-out.
The new changes will be in effect this year, attached with a three-year agreement ending on April 30, 2023.
Beginning in May 2021, a three per cent increase will be applied to the cost of the pass.
Students pay just under $90 per semester for the U-Pass, according to the URSU website.