Part-time students lose TTC privileges

Gleb Polstvin
Staff Writer
Much to the dismay of transit-reliant students, the TTC board voted to cut the Metropass student discount rate for part-time post-secondary students.
The new TTC decision is expected to save $1.4 million. Beginning Sept. 2011, part-time students will no longer be eligible for the $99 student discount, and will have to pay $121 for a regular monthly TTC pass.
Student representatives from across Toronto – including York University student union president Krisna Saravanamuttu – gathered at City Hall for a deputation, where students and community members spoke out against the ruling.
“There are 14,000 part-time students at York University that would be devastatingly impacted by this move,” said Saravanamuttu. “Many students had to revert to part-time because they could not carry the burdens of being full-time students.”
While he said he understood Toronto is under heavy financial strain, Saravanamuttu pointed out the long-term benefits of extending the discount to part-time students.
“These students could cultivate a culture of ridership based on sustainability and environmental consciousness, and this may discourage them from using the TTC.”
Though he is not a part-time student, third-year student Justyn Frost can empathize.

“I think part-time students and full-time students should be treated equally, because it’s really [cost]-efficient and it helps students a lot. It all comes down to their finances,” he said.
Fourth-year student Shazana Rajack agrees that with part-time schooling, full-time jobs and other financial expenditures, “part-time students have more obligations […] they should get the Metropass discount as part-time students.”
Saravanamuttu said those present at the deputation were dismayed and disappointed by the TTC’s final decision, but that student representatives will move to lobby the provincial government as well as city councillors during the summer months.