There will be no universal bus pass for University of Guelph students this school year.
The U of G Central Student Association announced Wednesday night that due to the hybrid learning plan for campus, it has opted out of the plan for the fall and winter semester.
The universal bus pass, or UPass, is a subsidized Guelph Transit pass that all undergraduate and graduate students pay for as part of mandatory student fees.
The cancelling of the pass will be a huge financial hit to Guelph Transit.
Earlier this year, Deputy CAO Colleen Clack told Guelph City Council that the universal student bus pass brings in $3.5 million in revenue for each of the fall and winter semesters.
The city already refunded $1.8 million to U of G students this year because of free transit being implemented for the first few months of the pandemic after students had already paid for the pass.
The city has not yet announced any service reduction or route changes related to the reduction of students that will be on campus starting this fall.
“The CSA has temporarily suspended the universal bus pass for Fall 2020 and Winter 2021 as many students are not returning to Guelph in the fall or will not be using transit service,” the CSA said on its Facebook page.
The CSA says that students needing to use transit this fall will be able to purchase a discounted post-secondary bus pass for $272 per semester.
The regular price of a monthly adult bus pass is $80.
“We are committed to returning to a universal fee structure when conditions at the University of Guelph and province allow,” the CSA said.
They added that they would consider reinstating the universal pass should circumstances on campus change in the winter semester.
