As Dalhousie University students trickle back onto campus for the fall semester, they won’t have to depend on Uber, taxis or Driver Dave shuttles to get to the airport if they don’t have spare change. All that’s required is a DalCard.
Halifax Public Transit announced in August that students with a UPass or Student Transit Pass no longer have to pay an additional top-up fee of $1.50 for their fare on Regional Express services. This includes routes 330 and 370, along with route 320, which runs to and from the airport.
“That’s awesome,” said Elle Crilly when asked about the removal of the top-up fee. “I never have enough change on me to get me all the way home.”
Crilly is a third-year Dalhousie student and frequently uses the Regional Express service to get to and from the airport for trips to her home province.
“I would much rather take the bus for free than spend $60 on an Uber,” she said.
In an email to The Dalhousie Gazette, Sarah Brannen, a spokesperson for the Halifax Regional Municipality, said that the decision to get rid of the top-up requirement was made by the Halifax Regional Council.
According to Brannen, the Council received complaints from students about rising bus fees, causing Councillor David Hendsbee to request they drop the top-up fee. The rest of Council voted in favour of dropping the fee and Brannen said they’ve heard comments from former and current students in support of the change.
Brannen said she hopes this change will increase the use of public transit in Halifax.
“This change is expected to remove barriers to travel, particularly for students living in rural areas, [such as] Porters Lake and Tantallon,” she said.
In an email to The Gazette, the DalCard and UPass Team at Dalhousie said that they were not involved in making the decision, but that they’re happy that the additional fee has been removed for students.
Third-year King’s student Anton Kredl depends on the Regional Express buses to get to the airport.
“I always take the buses each time I go home,” he said. “I used the bus yesterday morning after I landed.”
Kredl said it’s always a struggle to find enough change to get him on the bus.
“Now that I know I don’t have to pay, I can use my change for coffees,” Kredl said with a smirk.
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