BC budget leaves key election promise in doubt

VANCOUVER, March 9 /CNW Telbec/ - The 2010 BC budget has left students wondering if the 2009 election promise to implement universal transit passes will ever become a reality. No funding to provide a student-priced transit pass for Vancouver students was outlined in the budget.

"Tens of thousands of students in Vancouver are without a student-priced bus pass, contributing to financial obstacles to graduation," said Shamus Reid, CFS-BC Chairperson. "The government has, so far, failed to match its election promise with concrete commitments to affordable transit," said Reid.

In the 2009 BC election, Premier Gordon Campbell promised students a universal transit pass, but students have yet to see a financial commitment. Since then, a student campaign called "OnePassNow" has been trying to work with the government to initiate a $25 universal transit pass for all public post-secondary students in the lower mainland.

"Student debt has reached record levels in BC. If the Premier actually delivers on his election promise, reduced transit costs would provide some relief to students struggling under a mountain of bills," said Reid.

The Canadian Federation of Students-British Columbia is BC's provincial student organization, representing 150,000 university and college students at all levels of post-secondary education in BC. It is non-partisan and affiliated with Canada's largest national student organization, the Canadian Federation of Students.

For further information: Shamus Reid, Chairperson, [phone]; Ian Boyko, Communications Officer, [phone]