Algonquin students to vote on U-Pass this week

Algonquin College students are voting in a referendum this week on whether to accept a proposal that would give every student at the school a discounted transit pass.

OC Transpo put an age limit on student bus passes in 2012, forcing some Algonquin students to pay the adult price.

The transit service has a tentative agreement with the Algonquin Students' Association, one that would assess eligible students a fee of up to $199 each semester for a U-Pass.

There are already U-Pass programs at the University of Ottawa, Saint Paul University and Carleton University.

Mackenzie Campbell, spokesperson for the Algonquin Students' Association, said the U-Pass would mean students would pay half what they normally would pay for a monthly pass.

"If the referendum has a positive outcome, then in September 2015 all eligible full-time students will receive a U-Pass and that will give students approximately a 50 per cent discount on the regular monthly pass," said Campbell.

Jenish Shah, who studies business administration at Algonquin College, plans to vote no to the U-Pass since he doesn't take the bus enough to make it worth the money.

Shah said some students bike to school or drive and already pay for a parking pass.

"They don't need to have this extra two hundred dollars added to the tuition. It is just like an extra cost they don't need," said Shah.

About 16,000 students would be eligible for the Algonquin U-Pass.

Eligible students can vote online or at booths at the Woodroffe campus until Friday.