By Eric Fung
You passed the U-Pass.
Students voted three to two in favour of the U-Pass, which will serve full-time University of Calgary undergrads starting September. For a mandatory $50 per session in 2002 and $56 per session in 2003, students will receive unrestricted access to Calgary Transit in the fall and winter sessions.
"The students said they wanted it," said Students’ Union Vice-President Operations and Finance Natasha Dhillon. "Now that [the U-Pass] has gone through referendum, we’ll see it on campus. We will do everything to get the ball rolling."
With city approval pending, the final details are being worked out, according to Director of Ancillary Services Pete Fraser.
"Now we have to start discussions with university and transit officials about the transfer of payments and how to put the [U-Pass] stickers on ID cards," said Fraser. "One of the things high on my list is to extend the hours of service. The more we do, the more converts we’ll get."
Fraser commented that with the referendum over, he hopes to see all students satisfied.
"I’m pleased that it passed, but I hoped for a larger voter turnout and a more decisive result," Fraser said. "We hope those 1,900 people who voted ‘no’ will become converts once the U-Pass is in place."
Routes will be added and revised in conjunction with the city once usage pattern data becomes available, according to Fraser.