Saarbrücken transit system, April 2003;
timed cross-platform interchange
Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2005 7:26 PM
Subject: Let`s fix this mess.. Chicoutimi style (Nov11)
Yo guys,
I thought I'd call on you for your knowledge far and wide.
Alright, I'm trying to get a campaign together at the University for bus passes. There are a small number of students(over 3000) and a large number of parking spaces (1600). Not only that the transit system for the community at large is slim. They neeeeeed this deal, and it just so happens I snaked my way into the environmental commitee at the university and I will try to propose it as a staple campaign.
Ok, number one do you know any info about both campaigns in your schools (guelph and Mac, dunno about queens)?
Number two: did you have a referendum?
Number three: how much was the payment for one semester versus the payment for a bus pass for a month?
Number four: if you got any suggestions let me know.
cheers
aj
hi andy and friends,
i think the HSR got in touch with mcmaster and made the proposal -- they were very short on funds at the time, and were looking for a cash injection, which 15,000 students could easily supply. there was indeed a referendum at the school, but only after the bus pass program had been in place for a year. students who were paying for parking passes felt that it was unfair that they should pay for a bus pass they "wouldn't use", and so they organized a referendum. i imagine that you want to approach the issue from the other side, ie: have a referendum to get the program in place. as for the cost, i think it was $57 for an 8 month pass through the school, which at the time was the price of a monthly adult HSR pass. it's probably up around $70 or something now. i think the graduate student pass was closer to $90 ($101 now), as grad students get a 12 month bus pass instead of the undergrad 8.
the issue i'm wondering about is whether students will support the program if they know that chicoutimi bus service is bad, they will not support paying for the pass. if somehow you can convince the bus line to improve service along "student" routes, then the students might be convinced to back the plan.
i'm going to post this stuff on my web site, which maybe we can use as a forum for this project.
ps: the picture link above takes you to a McGill website to which you might want to extend this project. maybe you could see if they have any experience with the (admittedly different) situation in montréal.
Q x
3 comments:
hi andy and friends,
i think the HSR got in touch with mcmaster and made the proposal -- they were very short on funds at the time, and were looking for a cash injection, which 15,000 students could easily supply. there was indeed a referendum at the school, but only after the bus pass program had been in place for a year. students who were paying for parking passes felt that it was unfair that they should pay for a bus pass they "wouldn't use", and so they organized a referendum. i imagine that you want to approach the issue from the other side, ie: have a referendum to get the program in place. as for the cost, i think it was $57 for an 8 month pass through the school, which at the time was the price of a monthly adult HSR pass. it's probably up around $70 or something now. i think the graduate student pass was closer to $90 ($101 now), as grad students get a 12 month bus pass instead of the undergrad 8.
the issue i'm wondering about is whether students will support the program if they know that chicoutimi bus service is bad, they will not support paying for the pass. if somehow you can convince the bus line to improve service along "student" routes, then the students might be convinced to back the plan.
i'm going to post this stuff on my web site, which maybe we can use as a forum for this project.
ps: the picture link above takes you to a McGill website to which you might want to extend this project. maybe you could see if they have any experience with the (admittedly different) situation in montréal.
Q x
Quint et al.
It turns out that Guelph, McMaster, Queens, and Sherbrooke all have a mass transit pass program for their students. These are only the schools that I have come across in passing!
It seems this is definitly a project suited for the centres with lower ridership that could use the injection of funds to increase the profile of the service and enhance city transit use.
The Chicoutimi scenario is an interesting one as the town is a juxtaposition in itself, crying out to become a ecotourist centre with associated natural beauty yet enamoured by the ease and decieving practical features of a car-driven culture.
I will keep you updated, as the next steps will see me interacting with graduate students in ecological studies and the local transit authority - CITS.
As always your support is encouraged.
Cheers
andreasmlink@yahoo.com
I think that if you could incorporate the transit system into a series of ecological tours, that might help things in terms of city funding. Aldermen always like tourists.
The other thing to work on is getting some of the local unions to support public transit, as they could increase ridership to local manufacturing centres or other work locations. This of course assumes that Chicoutimi is big enough to have such things...
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