In case you haven’t been paying microscopically close attention to the news at the U of WO, there’s a referendum that will decide the future of the undergraduate bus pass.  I say “microscopic” attention because the USC has let this slip under the radar.

Long story short, vote YES to keep the bus pass (at the rate of $135 per year) or vote no and go it alone.  The USC will consider it a decision of “no” if less than 5500 votes are cast in total or “no” gets more votes than YES.

I’ve done some maths on this and the new bus pass rate will pay for itself after 50 rides (at the LTC adult rate of $2.75 per ride).  Fifty should be easy to cover for anyone that doesn’t live within a 5-minute walk of campus.  Basically, voting YES is the only real sensible way to go.

But what if you wanted more reasons?  Suppose you want to live within five minutes of campus but haven’t signed a lease yet so you wouldn’t need a bus pass.  (I guess that means you don’t plan on going downtown or to Masonville.)  I would put pen to paper soon because those places close to campus will be in much higher demand.  I would imagine a smart landlord would be able to pull in more than $135 over twelve months more than he is now.  You’ll buy a bus pass from the LTC, you say?  At $70 per month it’s only $560 plus tax.  Maybe you have a car and will drive to campus everyday.  Good news, you can get a parking permit (with no guarantee that you’ll get a spot you like) for only $638.

So vote YES.  Save some cash.  Be environmentally friendly.  Don’t freeze to death in winter.  Pick whatever reason you need, just vote YES.

Click here to vote.