Universal Bus Pass Agreements
Alan Marshall
(Kate M Armstrong) writes:
>
> Hi, I'm a student politician trying to negotiate a universal bus pass
> agreement for 13000 undergraduate students in Guelph, Ontario, a town of
> 90000 people. I am looking for some feedback on a few questions;
For Toronto:
>
> 1. Does your town have discounts for students who ride buses?
No
>
> 2. How large is your ridership and what proportion of it is students?
The figure is a matter of public record, but I thought it was
400,000,000 last year. University/College Students are an
insignificant proportion
>
> 3. Does your bus commission have late night hours and Sunday service?
Yes
>
> 4. Is your bus commission government supported, if yes by what level of
> government and to what extent?
Again a matter of public record, but the municipalities and province
kick in a total of 75-80%
>
> 5. And finally a related question, is your bus service autonomous from
> your municipal government?
No. Metro appoints some of the Commissioners.
>
>
> Please post or e-mail me responses. I would love any kind of feedback.
>
> Kate Armstrong
> Local Affairs Commissioner, University of Guelph Central Students Association
>
--
-- Alan Marshall "That's, as they say, a chunk of
AK20...@SOL.YORKU.CA change," Binger in the WSJ
York University
Toronto, Canada
Kate M Armstrong
Hi, I'm a student politician trying to negotiate a universal bus pass
agreement for 13000 undergraduate students in Guelph, Ontario, a town of
90000 people. I am looking for some feedback on a few questions;
1. Does your town have discounts for students who ride buses?
2. How large is your ridership and what proportion of it is students?
3. Does your bus commission have late night hours and Sunday service?
4. Is your bus commission government supported, if yes by what level of
government and to what extent?
5. And finally a related question, is your bus service autonomous from
your municipal government?
David Lyall
I live in Santa Cruz, california and the University students (UCSC)
all pay a transportation fee as part of their student fees every quarter.
The local community college also has a similar arrangement. They have only
to show the bus driver (me) their student ID card and get a free ride. The
driver (me) punches a button and reports at the end of the day how many
times each button was punched.
The transit district (an independant government agency) bills th3e
transportion office for the number of counts by some formula negotiated
with each college.
Probably 20% of our ridership is on student cards.
George Sodini
> Kate Armstrong
> Local Affairs Commissioner, U of Guelph Central Students Association
Kate:
When I went to the University of Pittsburgh down here in Pennsylvania, we
had a university owned bus(s) that would make continous loops around
campus all throughout the day, free of charge of course. It benefitted
*all* students at the university, so I think it is a good idea.
What you seem to be suggesting is that *all* students (including on
campus residents) pay for bus service that only the commuters will use.
The word that you used that caught my eye quick is "universal", which is
also being used quite often now down here in the states.
What will happen when the budget runs short of funds like your health
care system did last year? Will they also close like your hospitals
did? :-)
From a political point of view, this type of plan can only benefit the
political figures who implement it.
George Sodini
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA
Stop Socialism: Impeach Clinton!
Mark J Ambrose
: Hi, I'm a student politician trying to negotiate a universal bus pass
: agreement for 13000 undergraduate students in Guelph, Ontario, a town of
: 90000 people. I am looking for some feedback on a few questions;
: 1. Does your town have discounts for students who ride buses?
Capital Area Transit offers ~20% discount on the monthly commuter pass to
students and employees of NC State University.
: 2. How large is your ridership and what proportion of it is students?
Don't know. Probably a very small fraction of CAT riders are students.
: 3. Does your bus commission have late night hours and Sunday service?
Minimal late night service.
: 4. Is your bus commission government supported, if yes by what level of
: government and to what extent?
Yes, city/county.
: 5. And finally a related question, is your bus service autonomous from
: your municipal government?
No.
In addition NC State University has bus service funded by student fees.
It runs from outlying commuter lots to campus and also serves areas near
campus with lots of student residents (about a 3 mile radius from
campus). This bus also connects main campus to the Vet. School Campus
and the a new campus which is being developed about a mile or 2 from main
campus.
Mark
Tim Moerman
Phons Bloemen
> Hi, I'm a student politician trying to negotiate a universal bus pass
> agreement for 13000 undergraduate students in Guelph, Ontario, a town of
> 90000 people. I am looking for some feedback on a few questions;
maybe this it your ultimate goal (situation in Netherlands). We have a
'deal' for all 600.000 students: OV-Studentenkaart
> 1. Does your town have discounts for students who ride buses?
card costs NLG 70 a month (1 USD =1.75 NLG), but it is mandatory, and
included in the state grant.
Government made it mandatory because it was cheaper giving everyone free
transport than computing and paying individual commuting expenses. It also
removed some older cars from the streets :-)
The card is valid for ALL public transport in the WHOLE country.
> 2. How large is your ridership and what proportion of it is students?
Due to success of the card, ridership is enormous. About 25 % of NS (dutch
railways) patrons are students, and a lot of 'pleasure' trips are made.
However, the pleasure trips are not made in rush hours, but during the 'wee'
hours. And in cities, the bicycle is still the preferred means of transport
(it does not stop after 12 midnight )
> 3. Does your bus commission have late night hours and Sunday service?
Service until 12 midnight. Night trains. Some cities have night buses, but
the card is not valid on those.
> 4. Is your bus commission government supported, if yes by what level of
> government and to what extent?
See above, card is included in state grants (everyone gets a state grant
here, due to the tax system).
> 5. And finally a related question, is your bus service autonomous from
> your municipal government?
bus and train service is run by state-owned companies.
This system now has been working for 4 years. This year, the conditions of the
deal will be worsened. The card will be valid on working days or on weekends,
depending on your choice (choose only once!). In the other period,
it gives 40 % rebate on fares.
I know of a similar 'deal' in the Ruhrgebiet area in Germany.
> Please post or e-mail me responses. I would love any kind of feedback.
> Kate Armstrong
> Local Affairs Commissioner, University of Guelph Central Students Association
--
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Phons Bloemen | Information & Communication Theory| Work +31 40 473672
Tongelresestraat 309a | Dept. of Electrical Engineering | Home +31 40 815731
5642 NB Eindhoven NL | Eindhoven University of Technology| ph...@ei.ele.tue.nl
bud hamilton
o are wondering, this is not really an entirely "new" list, just new to Usenet.
However, almost all of the contributors so far have not been contributors to
our former list. If numbers of participants are a guide to whether a list is
successful, we must be a "Jurassic Park" of Usenet! Hope quality remains high.
Oddly, the discussion on campus transit was one of the last threads which was
on our former list. I _just posted_ something on this, so perhaps it will be
gatewayed from the mists of the cyberspace ether (it hasn't shown up yet).
Basically, I noted that University of Georgia students pay a $25.00 transport
ation fee per quarter which allows students to ride free on Athens city transit
I think most students believe a good chunk of their money goes to the city;
but actually, only about $3.00 per quarter goes to the city. The rest goes to
building parking lots (?!!) and UGA's separate system of bus/shuttles. I'm
actually not sure that this is a good deal for the transit agency, since
_lots_ of students use this, and the city transit buses are forced to route
their buses through campus. Students often use the city buses to simply go
across campus rather than other parts of the city, so they really to a large
extent relieve the overcrowded on-campus system rather than provide student
mobility.
I don't have exact figures readily available, but students do form a large
contingent of the city transit riders. However, more students and others
would ride it if the schedule were more rider-friendly. The system is really
only up and running from 7AM to 6:30PM (0700 to 1830) with 30 minute to 1 hour
headways. Saturday service is curtailed, and Sunday service is non-existent.
The on-campus bus system (not the city transit) runs until midnight on week
days, not at all on weekends. *Hope this helps*
Bud Hamilton hami...@uga.cc.uga.edu Mgmt.Dept/ Univ. of Georgia
419 Terry College of Business Athens GA 30602-6256
Voice (706)542-1294 FAX (706)542-3743 (new more bandwidth-friendly .sig)
Jordan Green
>
>Hi, I'm a student politician trying to negotiate a universal bus pass
>agreement for 13000 undergraduate students in Guelph, Ontario, a town of
>90000 people. I am looking for some feedback on a few questions;
>
>1. Does your town have discounts for students who ride buses?
York University and UofT for YEARS have petitioned the TTC trying to
get a post-secondary student pass. There is a student pass, but only for
students up until they graduate from high school. The TTC feels that
university students can afford tuition, so they can afford the high fees
of transit.
>
>2. How large is your ridership and what proportion of it is students?
At my school, York University, over 65 per cent of the students
commute in some form. I think the breakdown of transit vs. car is higher
for the car, than the bus. York is known as a commuter university. I
suggest you call the student union -- The York Federation of Students
(YFS) (416)736-5324 for more informatin on their attempts at getting a
student pass. Also, call the main campus paper "excalibur" at
(416)736-5239 or e-mail at: xcal...@vm1.yorku.ca (excalibur has covered
the issue a couple of times over the years.
>3. Does your bus commission have late night hours and Sunday service?
The TTC has one of the best services in North America, and has 24 hour
operations on major surface routes. For more info call them at (416)393-4636.
>4. Is your bus commission government supported, if yes by what level of
>government and to what extent?
Yes, the TTC is supported by the City of Toronto and The Province of
Ontario. For more info, call the TTC at the above number. Also, check
out the Min of Transportation Gilles Poulion, (sorry I don't have the
number handy -- check the GOVERNMENT BLUE pages at the back of your phone
book).
>5. And finally a related question, is your bus service autonomous from
>your municipal government?
I really don't know -- you'd have to call them to find out.
>Kate Armstrong
>Local Affairs Commissioner, University of Guelph Central Students Association
Your name sounds a bell ... were you the editor of Guelph's student
paper last year, or is just me hearing bells?
Jordan H. Green, Freelance Journalist -- YKU0...@NEXUS.YORKU.CA