uOttawa to reconsider participation in U-Pass if city increases student fares, student union says

OC Transpo bus leaving Marketplace Station in Barrhaven. (Peter Szperling/CTV News Ottawa)

The student union at the University of Ottawa says it will consider pulling its participation from the U-Pass, which provides discounted transit fares for students, if the city goes forward with hiking student transit fees and violating the program’s contract.

The City of Ottawa set out in its 2025 draft budget that it would be raising fees by five per cent a year for the U-Pass, double the allowable 2.5 per cent increase the University of Ottawa Student Union (UOSU) says the city had agreed to.

A letter sent on Wednesday to the City of Ottawa's director of transit customer systems and planning Pat Scrimgeour says the union is "incredibly disappointed" in the increase and states the decision would "only exacerbate" the financial strain students are facing in an affordability crisis.

"The UOSU will be auditing student satisfaction with the U-Pass program and will reconsider the program’s continuation if OC Transpo continues to deprioritize services for our members, who collectively contribute $20 million annually to its budget," the letter signed by UOSU president Delphine Robitaille and UOSU advocacy commissioner Alexandra Stratas said.

"With ridership rates in Ottawa steadily declining, we urge the City to rethink its decision to violate a contract that grows in value for the City each year."

The U-Pass is used by students at Carleton University, uOttawa, Algonquin College and St. Paul University. The discounted cost of the U-Pass is paid during each term of study and is included in student fees.

During the fall and winter semesters, there were approximately 74,500 post-secondary students in Ottawa who were eligible for and received a U-Pass.

"This proposal comes on the heels of the City of Ottawa's cuts to LRT service, which were implemented without any student consultation, despite disproportionately impacting them," the letter says.

The 2025 draft Ottawa budget shows a U-Pass increase of $11.45 to $240.52 per semester, previously $229.07. Should the school not participate in the program, students would have to buy an adult pass, which is set to cost $135 per month in the new year.

The UOSU is asking the city to unilaterally rescind its decision in consideration of its contract set out in the Universal Pass Agreement, signed by the union and OC Transpo. The union says the decision would also put it in legal jeopardy, as its constitution and bylaws do not allow U-Pass fee increases above the allowed amount.

"We stand united in demanding that the express terms of the U-Pass Agreement, which were voluntarily entered into, are respected by the City of Ottawa and OC Transpo in order to preserve our students’ ability to access affordable public transportation. The UOSU will not allow the burden of the City of Ottawa’s budgetary crisis to be shifted onto the backs of students who continue to receive declining public transit services," the letter says.

The union says it will be sharing its concerns with councillors at the city's transit commission meeting on Monday.

The fare increases come as the city seeks to hike fares across the board to address a $120 million hole in the transit budget. Some of the city's proposals to make up for the deficit include scrapping youth monthly passes and doubling the cost of a monthly senior pass.

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has said he is looking for solutions to decrease the hike in senior transit fares but did not mention a change to youth or student rates.

The City of Ottawa said in an emailed statement that it has received the letter and it is currently being reviewed but would not provide further details.

The city told CTV News on Monday that the proposed five per-cent increase in fares is "necessary" to ensure the "long-term stability" of Ottawa's transit system.

"OC Transpo and City staff have been in contact with the four institutions to alert them to the draft budget provisions that would increase U-Pass prices by five per cent in 2025," the city said.

"OC Transpo has engaged each post-secondary institution to discuss how this variation from the agreement would be documented and agreed upon in time to brief City Council on any considerations resulting from the discussions."

In an joint letter to the four institutions in the U-Pass program, city councillors Laine Johnson, Shawn Menard and Stéphanie Plante expressed their support with student associations and administrators who wish to hold the city to the 2.5 per cent increase. The councillors noted that Ottawa's U-Pass is one of the most expensive in the country, behind Winnipeg ($223.30), The University of British Columbia ($184), Edmonton ($180) and Mississauga ($154.65).

"As the administrators and student associations of the affects institutions, you are within your rights to hold the city to the agreed-upon 2.5 per cent increase, at most, and we will fully support your decision to do so," the councillors wrote.

OC Transpo received $38.2 million in fare revenue from the U-Pass during the 2023-2024 academic year, according to statistics provided by the City of Ottawa.

The councillors said the program tends to make up approximately 20 per cent of OC Transpo's total fare revenue.