Introduction of a new fare payment system for Regional District of Nanaimo buses could open the door for plans for an unlimited-use bus pass for university students.
The Umo system, allowing riders to pay by tap card or mobile app, will be available beginning Thursday, Nov. 16, and has led to a renewed expression of interest for the universal pass or U-Pass, according to Michael Getchell, RDN manager of transit operations.
Various forms of passes are available at other post-secondary institutions in B.C., including the University of Victoria. In general terms, James Bowen, Vancouver Island University Students’ Union executive director, said the U-Pass is funded from a mandatory fee charged to all students that “pays for a discounted travel pass.”
Getchell said discussions with the union have been very preliminary, but the Umo technology is tailor-made for the U-Pass.
“The U-Pass, itself, would have been a physical card, but now that Umo is going to be in place, [it could] be part of an E-fare system, so they can use the app or they could use the physical Umo card and the U-Pass will get loaded onto that card, so they can swipe or use the QR code through the app at any point,” said Getchell.
Bowen said that U-Pass talks lost momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic and only “informal coversations” have taken place in recent months. If there’s a proposal that makes sense, it will be brought before students, he said.
“The students’ union is open to having a conversation to talk about what that proposal might look like and then students, if the board of directors approved it, would have the opportunity to vote…” said Bowen. “There’s no active conversations right now, but [there’s] a willingness of all parties to come together. There’s no big drive at the moment, but certainly there’s been some interest that’s been expressed.”
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