MONTREAL (CUP)—A hefty new transit discount for Montreal university students is encouraging the University of Toronto to push for cheaper public transportation.

The Société de Transport de Montreal, formerly the STCUM, has instituted a new university student bus pass for full-time university students age 18 to 25.

At just $25 per month, the new bus pass makes Montreal public transit the cheapest for university students in any major city in Canada.

Alex Kerner, president of the U of T Students’ Administrative Council, thinks the transit discount is part of a national trend that Toronto can no longer ignore.

“It shows that with a political will, anything can be achieved,” Kerner said. “It puts pressure on the provincial and federal governments to deal with the lack of affordable transportation in the city,” he added.

Danielle Lanteigne, a McGill University student association vice-president, was pleased that the student bus pass was in effect.

“I’m happy,” she said. “It’s a good thing for the large majority of the students that we represent.”

Lanteigne expressed regret, however, that the bus pass did not cover graduate students or mature students who are over 25 and therefore ineligible for the lower rate. These students will, in fact, have to pay more than they did last semester, as the general rates for transit have gone up.

“We’re going to write to [Mayor Gerald] Tremblay,” Lanteigne said. “Student leaders are going to keep reinforcing the message that this should be applicable to all students with proof of valid full-time enrolment.”

Nonetheless, she was pleased the mayor kept his promise.

“I think this is a huge step in the right direction,” she said.

Back in November, it looked as if the newly elected mayor’s election promise was in peril. The Montreal Transition Committee budget, handed down by the Quebec government, did not include provisions for a university student rate, despite the fact that both main mayoral candidates had promised it. Tremblay officially became mayor of the new Montreal Megacity on Jan. 1.

U of T student council president Kerner said that the campaign promises were a sign that Montreal students were making their voices heard.

“It shows the effectiveness of a strong student lobby,” he said.

Kerner plans to inform the Toronto Transit Commission about Montreal’s student discount as the U of T continues to negotiate for cheaper student fares.

“2003 is the date we have in mind” for reduced transit rates for students, Kerner added.