U-Pass referendum planned for October, date not yet confirmed

The Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU) is planning a referendum for this October to adopt a universal transit pass for Ryerson students.

The dates, however, have not been finalized.

The discounted pass (U-Pass) will be offered at a price of $70 per month, accounting for an additional $280 of tuition each semester. If voted in, the U-Pass could be offered by the fall of 2019.

RSU vice-president education, Salman Faruqi, said they are waiting for final confirmation on a date from the university, which should come within the next two weeks.

“There’s no hold up,” said Faruqi. “There’s just certain dates where they have meetings and obviously the meeting falls into one of those dates so we’re just waiting for that meeting date to come up.”

Ryerson’s public affairs office said the referendum will take place this fall, likely next month.

Ryerson’s Board of Governors appointed a sub-committee who is the decision-making body, according to Ram Ganesh, RSU president. Ganesh said students should follow the RSU on social media for updates.

The University of Toronto’s St. George campus voted against a U-Pass program in a referendum earlier this year.

After collecting data from the U of T referendum, Ganesh said they are actively reaching out to students about the U-Pass.

“A lot of students who lived in residence or close proximity to [the St. George] campus, did not [vote for] a pass,” said Ganesh, “So we’re trying to explain the benefits of the U-Pass for students living on residence.”

Ryerson’s referendum was approved during a Board of Governors meeting in April 2017.

A majority of full-time students must vote in favour of the U-Pass for it to be implemented at Ryerson. Full-time students enrolled in spring or summer classes will have the U-Pass available to them.

Students will be able to opt out of the U-Pass on a case-by-case basis, but this process has yet to be decided.