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 …