Results finally released: students approve of paying more for transit

Written by Nicole Elsasser

Although University of Guelph undergraduate students voted on increasing the price they pay for transit back in March, the results were only officially released on Friday April 9. The delay came because graduate students had yet to vote on the transit fare increase and overseeing parties did not want the results of the undergraduate vote to sway the graduate opinion. When the results were finally released, there was overwhelming support for the increase, with 90 per cent of undergraduate students and 81 per cent of graduate students voting in favour of increasing the cost of their universal transit pass from $61.63 to $82.15 per semester.

According to Galen Fick, the local affairs commissioner for the Central Student Association (CSA) and the executive who worked closest to the transit issue, while he expected the transit increase to pass, he did not expect the type of resounding approval that the undergraduate vote reflected.

“I think people accepted the reasoning for the price increase and accepted that the concern was that we weren’t paying our reasonable portion,” said Fick. “Students were pretty amicable… it’s been ridiculously cheap before and it’s still very cheap…clearly, in campaigning and leading up to it, there were a lot of people who really cared and really were informed and really saw this as an essential service and something that we all really benefit from.”

While the issue with the transit price increase began with a lack of communication between student governments and Guelph transit, Fick explained that through the process of negotiation, the two organizations have arrived at a very positive place.

“I had a really great meeting with [Guelph transit] on Friday after we found out the results and we’re all really keen to work together,” said Fick. “I think we got off on a bad foot when that proposal was before council but I think we’re going to go forward and have a positive relationship with complete, honest, transparent conversation that have been the history between the two groups.”

Fick explained that one aspect to the open communication between transit and the university is that student opinion will be factored into the city’s upcoming transit growth strategy to determine what students want and need with respect to transportation.

While little else will change in the way transit operates for U of G students, the CSA is moving toward a new method for bus sticker distribution to assist Guelph transit in dealing with fraud issues.

“We’re thinking about changing how we do distribution so that it will be more effective,” said Fick. “We’re [changing] to semesterly stickers so people will be able to get in the habit of knowing the first Thursday and Friday of every semester, they need to get their new stickers.”

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