The Ontario Progressive Conservative Party government announced a form of voluntary student unionism last Thursday, unveiling significant changes to student fee regulations.
Dr. Merrilee Fullerton, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, stated that all of Ontario’s publicly funded colleges and universities must make all but “essential” student fees voluntary, with easy online opt-outs for students not wishing to pay those fees.
Left unknown is whether the mandatory fee for the Hamilton Street Railway universal bus pass at McMaster University and Mohawk College will be considered “essential” under provincial regulations, made voluntary, or exempted from the framework.
The announcement states that “walk home” programs are deemed essential safety services, and student levies for these programs must continue. The question remains: will universities be able to claim U-Pass fees as measures to ensure students can get home safely?
U-Pass Levies
Currently, all full-time undergraduates at McMaster and all full-time students at Mohawk College must pay $206.16 in the 2019–20 academic year towards the HSR universal student pass. The fee is charged regardless of whether a student uses local transit.
McMaster commuter students living in Mississauga pay for HSR passes, meaning if the province makes the HSR fee voluntary, a significant portion of each institution’s student body could opt out.
McMaster full-time on-campus graduate students will pay $252.38 for their 2019–20 pass.
Redeemer University College students pay $171.98 for their U-Pass. Redeemer is not publicly funded, and the contract between Redeemer and the City of Hamilton is not affected by provincial regulation changes.
U-Passes Represent One-Sixth of HSR’s Total Revenue
The HSR’s 2018 revenue forecast was $42.4 million, of which $7.1 million came from McMaster and Mohawk U-Passes—16.7 per cent of the HSR’s overall revenue.
| Revenue Source | Amount |
|---|---|
| Adult Cash | $6,189,343.00 |
| Adult Ticket | $17,120,477.00 |
| Student Ticket | $2,740,243.00 |
| Adult Pass | $5,133,539.00 |
| Student Pass | $2,850,693.00 |
| Day Pass | $68,889.00 |
| Senior Pass | $927,170.00 |
| McMaster MSU U-Pass | $4,131,632.00 |
| McMaster GSA U-Pass | $767,298.00 |
| Mohawk U-Pass | $2,203,063.00 |
| Redeemer U-Pass | $105,248.00 |
| Employer Commuter Pass | $199,382.00 |
If Queen’s Park ends mandatory U-Passes, the HSR will need to determine whether it will again offer a discounted term pass for Mohawk and McMaster students, or simply expect them to pay for monthly adult passes.
Prior to the 1995 implementation of the McMaster U-Pass, the HSR offered a discounted four-month post-secondary pass.
In the immediate short term, HSR management will need to respond to a loss of more than $7 million in revenue.
The question is whether HSR management will ask City Council to increase its budget to replace that revenue—which translates to approximately a 0.8 per cent tax levy increase—or whether it will look at cutting service.
“We are working through this announcement to better understand what the implications might be,” wrote HSR Communications Officer Amanda Kinnard in response to The Public Record’s questions about how the HSR will manage a potential loss of revenue.
Related coverage
Ottawa Citizen: Letting students opt out of transit fee could jeopardize u-pass program
Production Details v. 1.0.2 Last edited: January 27, 2019 Author: Joey Coleman Edit Record v. 1.0.0 original version v. 1.0.1 addition of production details box. v. 1.0.2 change of word in paragraph 6, from "campuses student body" to "institution's" to accurately capture some students paying for UPasses do not attend main campuses.