The cost of their student bus passes skyrocketed. They say more students need to be allowed to opt out

Changes are needed to St. Clair College's bus pass system, a student says, after being forced to pay for an $800 bus pass she says she doesn't use.

Yechun Zhu is a second year international student who filed out the paperwork to opt out of the bus pass this year.

She lives about a seven-minute walk from the nearest bus stop and can bike to campus in less time than it takes to walk and wait to catch a bus.

The Saints Pass bus pass program is administered by the college's student council, and has two criteria students need to meet to opt out of paying for the pass: They need to live outside Transit Windsor's service area, or have paid for a campus parking pass.

But Zhu says the form said other reasons could be considered and there's a spot for students to write in, and she says she explained her reasons.

"They said, first of all, 40 per cent has been reached. So you're out of luck," she said. "And then they also said you don't meet either of the two criteria."

Zhu says she's aware of other students having the same issue, and a small petition is making the rounds.

Another student, Lulu Bai, is a first-year student and says she's in the same boat — and hopes the college reconsiders the rule.

The Saints Bus Pass program is in its fourth year — but this year, the cost of the pass skyrocketed, going to more than $800 from about $300 after the contract was re-signed. Students ratified the increase in a referendum last February.

At the time, the then-president of the SRC said it was a rate proposed by Transit Windsor, and the college opted to go to a referendum because it was such a large increase.

The contract includes a clause that says a maximum of 40 per cent of students can opt out of the bus pass.

Zhu says she had the pass last year, and the cost wasn't a big deal. But this year is a different story.

"$823 is not a small amount of money for us and we know that we are international students, we already pay the higher tuition," she said.

Pratham Singh Benipal is the president of the Student Representative Council (SRC). He told CBC Windsor that the form does allow students to explain other reasons, because the bus pass opt-out had never reached 40 per cent before and allowed for some "leniency."