UTSG full-time undergraduates would pay $280 per semester — or, $70 per month — for a new U-Pass if the cost is approved by the TTC board on March 20, and if UTSG students vote in support of the U-Pass in its upcoming referendum.
It was expected that the U-Pass could cost up to $322.50 per semester, or $80.60 a month. Currently, a TTC postsecondary metropass costs $116.75 per month.
The U-Pass “is designed to be revenue and cost neutral,” according to a report from Kirsten Watson, the TTC’s Acting Deputy Chief Executive Officer/Chief Customer Officer.
The report estimates that during the academic year, the TTC generates $7.3 million per month in revenue from full-time students at the four eligible postsecondary institutions: UTSG, Ryerson University, OCAD University, and George Brown College. The cost of the U-Pass would guarantee that revenue for the TTC.
Students will not be able to opt out of the U-Pass. Exceptions will include students “whose personal circumstances or needs related to a protected ground under the Ontario Human Rights Code restrict their ability to utilize transit.”
The U-Pass will only be implemented on PRESTO. Additionally, the report requires that the the student unions of the four postsecondary institutions agree to a four-year term on the U-Pass.
UTSG students will be able to vote on whether to implement the U-Pass during the UTSU spring elections period, running from March 26–28.
