On November 17, the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) held their monthly board of directors meeting. 

During the meeting, members discussed upcoming initiatives such as reimplementing the union’s Rideshare Program and a free TTC Pass Program. They also received an update on the 2025 election calendar. 

Rideshare returns 

During the executive reports, UTSU President Shehab Mansour gave an update that the union is on track to reimplement its Rideshare Program. 

The Rideshare Program is an initiative to promote safe travel by covering part of students’ Uber fees. The program ran from March 1 to April 30 between 1:00–5:00 am daily. In March, students weighed in on the rideshare program to The Varsity and were divided on its overall effectiveness. 

According to the previous program, students have to order an Uber and switch their personal profile to an administration profile under the payment method tab. The student then confirms that they want to bill the UTSU up to four dollars for that ride. Any remaining balance will be charged to the student. The union also offered only a total of 156 rides per week.

The union approved $10,000 for the Rideshare Program reimplementation. Mansour mentioned that it was very popular last year and will now fall under the president’s portfolio, making the president responsible for running the initiative. 

“We’re hoping to take a lot of that feedback that students had regarding rideshare last year, make adjustments and tweaks, and get that out as soon as possible,” he explained.

There isn’t an official date for the implementation, as Mansour noted there are some “kinks” to work out, such as accessing the administration profile for the Uber account and setting up the structure of the actual rideshare program. He projected that the program would be available to students by November 30. 

TTC Pass Program

Mansour then read a report on behalf of Vice President (VP) Public & University Affairs Avreet Jagdev, who was absent from the meeting. 

The union has researched and written a proposal for a free TTC Pass Program and approved $10,000 for it. The Varsity has been unable to confirm what the TTC pass will cover and how students will be able to access it. 

When asked when the program will launch, Mansour mentioned Jagdev would have more information on the timeline but expects a similar timeline to the Rideshare Program. 

Elections 

UTSU VP Finance & Operations Elizabeth Shechtman gave an update on the 2025 UTSU elections calendar. UTSU election by-laws state that elections must be held between February and March every year, electing the representatives for the upcoming fall semester.

Shechtman shared the current election calendar with the board and noted it was “far from final.” Currently, the nomination period — where people seek to become nominated for elected office by other UTSU members — is set from February 13–20. 

The all-candidates meeting — a mandatory meeting where the chief returning officer provides candidates with any information relevant to seeking an elected office — is scheduled to take place on February 21. 

There is a silent period — where any form of public election activities are prohibited, including nominations, campaigning, endorsing, and voting — from February 21–23. Election campaigning then begins on February 24. 

The voting period is set for February 25–28 with polls closing on February 27. The Varsity could not confirm the reason for discrepancy between the dates. 

Shechtman will be bringing the calendar to the Elections and Referenda Committee to be approved. She mentioned that the board doesn’t necessarily need to approve the timeline but they can if they choose to. 

UTSU President Shehab Mansour and VP Public & University Affairs Avreet Jagdev did not respond to The Varsity’s request for comment in time for publication.