CSA Makes International News for Its Musical Selection

Normally, the distribution of the student bus pass is not controversial for the University of Guelph's Central Student Association, but then they did the unthinkable by including a top hit from 1972 in their music playlist while handing out the stickers to summer students. A walk on the wild side, indeed.

Guelph Transit Back Friday; ATU & City Both Ratify Agreement

August 8 has always been a politically significant day, in 1942 it was the start of the Quiet India movement, in 1974 it was the day that Richard Nixon announced he was stepping down from the presidency, and in 1990 it was the day that Iraq invaded Kuwait, setting off a series of events that would lead to the Gulf War. Now August 8 is the date when the Guelph Transit lockout ended and the buses will start rolling out onto city roads once more. The City of Guelph and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1189 have both ratified a new contract and service will be restored once schedules are made and the bus fleet is inspected, which should be Friday at the earliest. What's in the agreement, and what's next for riders? Read on...

Details of 2014 Budget Released

It's that time of year again, the time to discuss the whats, wheres, whens and hows of the city's fiscal allocation. That is to say it's budget time. Always a difficult, and sometimes contentious, process the yearly budget battle struggles to keep up with the increased cost of services and the desire to make the tax burden as small as possible. Council consistently tries new things to make the process as smooth and as transparent as possible, and sometimes there's success and sometimes there isn't. But here we are again, and here we go again, with the deliberations for the 2014 budget.

The details of the 2014 budget thus far were outlined in a press release from city hall today. By the numbers, the proposed 2014 budget comes out to $192,865,918, which is a 3.36 per cent increase over last year. Interestingly, the city's decided to de-emphasize the need for new spending in this budget, so the total 3.36 per cent increase accounts for 2.73 per cent to maintain current programs and services, with an additional 0.63 per cent for investments in "initiatives designed to streamline and optimize City operations."

Turmoil on Transit (AKA Mutiny on the Bus)

If you've rode on transit lately, you'll have witnessed a growing, but silent, sense of disgruntlement from the drivers. You might recognize these flyers, either taped up on bus shelters, left out in public areas or slipped to dedicated riders on the Q.T.

In no uncertain terms these flyers say that the members of the transit union are fed up, and they're trying to rally support from loyal transit users to kick up a storm. Smart strategy considering that the city's bus lines are returning to 30 minute service all week long for three months starting in June, there's going to be no Sunday service at all in August, and from the U-pass to adult tickets, everybody's seen a fare increase in the last couple of months.

Transit workers have got their own reasons to be ticked too. About 31 transit employees will be laid off between June and August, or otherwise have their hours severely cut back. This while the City talks about the priority of transit and all its future plans, which kind of comes off looking like a lot of double speak. In the meantime, the drivers, the front line workers, probably are taking the brunt of the abuse for all of transit's recent shortfalls.

Below is a scan of the one side of the flyer. The opposite side had all the contact info for Mayor and council:

On a second note, I came across this the other night while riding the bus home:

What? You ask. Sure it's a little in advanced... But actually, this is from October 2005. How do I know? Because I remember this event being advertised when I was working my first ever journalism job as Arts & Culture Editor of the University of Guelph Ontarion.

But this leads to a question I've had about transit for awhile. We have all this ad space on city buses and the only ones who seem to use it anymore are various levels of government and the Central Student Association. Furthermore, many of the ads you do see are horribly outdated. Isn't this another revenue stream that can be accessed, thus making sure that the city doesn't have to resort to amended service hours to make up extra cash in the budget?

I'm interested in knowing why this [ample] space continues to go unused. Is it a time issue? No one has time to chase down potential advertisers? Or is this a class thing? Only people of limited means can ride the bus, people that don't have a lot of disposable income lying around. Ergo, they're not worth the time and money to advertise to. Ergo, no one will advertise on the city buses.

I hope this is not the case, because it just perpetuates a negative and wholly nonfactual point of view that public transit is for poor people only. Still, I would love to know where all the advertising went on our city buses.

U of G Students Say 'Yes' to U-Pass Price Increase

The undergraduate and graduate students of the University of Guelph have given an overwhelming thumbs up to an increase in price for the Universal Bus Pass, or U-Pass. The final results from the March referendum were released earlier today. According to the City, 5,000 students in total voted in the referendum, which is a pretty impressive number for any student election on campus. The new price for a U-Pass is $82 and change, which I believe is a $20 bump per semester. Still, it's only $10 more than the rest of us pay for an adult bus pass per month.

The U of G's post on the matter is here:

April 09, 2010 - Campus Bulletin

U of G students have voted overwhelmingly to accept a $20 increase to the universal bus pass starting May 1.

Results of a student referendum held in March were released today. Fully 90 per cent of undergraduate students and 81 per cent of graduate students supported the two-year rate increase negotiated between the University and Guelph Transit.

The new agreement will see the cost of U of G’s universal bus pass increase to $82.15 from $61.63 per four-month semester. There will be additional $2 price increases in each of the winter and spring/fall 2011 semesters.

Galen Fick, local affairs commissioner for the Central Students Association, said the outcome shows people recognized benefits for all students. “Students will continue to be environmental stewards and have universal support and access to one of the best transit systems around.”

Discussions about the bus pass rate had taken place between the University and City of Guelph for about two months after it was announced that Guelph Transit could no longer maintain services at the current rate. University students represent a significant portion of the transit system’s total ridership.

“The University is pleased that the students and the City will be continuing with the universal bus pass,” said Brenda Whiteside, associate vice president, student affairs, at the University of Guelph.

“This partnership allows Guelph Transit to remain accessible for our students, enabling them to choose living arrangements throughout the city and take advantage of an environmentally sustainable mode of transportation.”

The City's press release is here:

GUELPH, ON, April 9, 2010 –University of Guelph students voted in favour of supporting an increase to the cost of the University of Guelph transit pass (U-pass) as a result of a month long referendum process. A total of 5,000 students participated in the decision with 90% voting in support of the cost increase.

The University of Guelph U-Pass Program has been in place since 1994. The proposal to increase the cost of the pass came about as a result of budgetary pressures faced by the City. Changes to the U-pass are necessary to keep pace with the cost of running the transit system.

“We are very pleased with the results of the students' collective decision to support the Universal Pass. The change in pricing more accurately reflects the cost of providing bus services to the University of Guelph and works to further balance the contribution of the taxpayers for transit services." said Ann Pappert, Director Community Services, City of Guelph.

Since late 2009, representatives from the Central Student Association (CSA), Graduate Students' Association (GSA), University administration and Guelph Transit have worked together to revise program pricing and conditions that provide benefits to all the parties involved.

The new U-pass price will be $82.15 for the Spring/Fall 2010 semester, $84.15 for the Winter 2011 semester and $86.15 for the Spring/Fall 2011 and Winter 2012 semester.

“The University is pleased that the students and the City will be continuing with the Universal Bus Pass,” said Brenda Whiteside, Associate Vice President, Student Affairs at the University of Guelph. “This partnership allows Guelph Transit to remain accessible for our students, enabling them to choose living arrangements throughout the city, and taking advantage of an environmentally sustainable mode of transportation.”

University students represent a significant portion of the transit system’s total ridership. A ridership survey suggested approximately half of the university’s 20,000 students rely on Guelph Transit to get around the city.

“Students were asked to come to the table to continue our invaluable partnership with Guelph Transit. We answered that call and resoundingly said yes, we see the value in supporting the price increase to ensure that everyone keeps benefiting,” commented Galen Fick, Local Affairs Commissioner, Central Student Association. “Students will continue to be environmental stewards and have universal support and access to one of the best transit systems around. The City of Guelph can rest easy, knowing that due process has been followed and the price that students pay reflects the cost of providing the service.”

“Both graduate and undergraduate students have come forward to voice their strong support for the continuation of the U-Pass. Maintaining the U-Pass has ensured that every students’ accessibility needs will be met,” commented Jacqueline de Guzman, V.P. Finance, Graduate Students’ Association. “The partnership between students and Guelph Transit will only continue to grow and strengthen in the forthcoming years.”

In a spirit of co-operation, Guelph Transit continues to work closely with the student associations to develop a more detailed database to monitor ridership and service costs as a basis for future discussions.

The new price will take effect on May 1.