More than 700 people gathered yesterday at a Vancouver park to call for a $25 universal transit pass for students.
Rally organizers said Premier Gordon Campbell promised the same-price passes prior to the last election.
Simon Fraser University and University of British Columbia students pay $25 for their transit passes, but students at smaller schools pay as much as $71, which organizer Tiffany Kalanj said is not fair.
“What we have is a situation were students are riding the same bus, but some are paying three times more than others by virtue of where they study … All we are asking for is a fair system,” Kalanj said.
Nicole Majcher, a Vancouver Community College student, said the money she could save on her $50 pass would enable her to buy her several essentials.
“Twenty-five dollars less might not sound like a lot, but we have to buy $140 textbooks, food and supplies,” Majcher said. “Twenty-five dollars means everything: Five pieces of paper for art class, pencils, milk or eggs for the week.”
