Toward Sustainable Transport Choices Cost Benefit Analysis of U- Pass Program
Economic Analysis of Public Policy 2014 Professor Yoshitsugu Kanemoto Graduate School of Pubic Policy, The University of Tokyo TOWARD SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT CHOICES COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF U- PASS PROGRAM Chiu Hei (37-147003), Graduate School of Civil Engineering, The University of Tokyo) Ram Kumar Timalsina (53-138211), Graduate School of Public Policy, The University of Tokyo) Shun Suzuki (47-136832), Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo Sylvia Shuwen Zhou (51-138239), Graduate School of Public Policy, The University of Tokyo August 12, 2014 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY U-Pass is a public transport discount program carried out in the British Columbia area. It gives students access to bus, SeaBus and SkyTrain services within Metro Vancouver, as well as discounts on West Coast Express (TransLink), allowing unlimited travel in all zones (UBC U-Pass). Started in 2003, it has expanded to 10 institutions in the region (TransLink). Governments, both local and provincial, and participating institutions provide direct subsidies to the program. Students pay the U-Pass fee for the program through compulsory student fees. Though the program has achieved most of the initial goals, the true social benefits and the continuation of the program have been constantly questioned over the past few years, as administrative and maintenance costs increase. Responding to the critique, the present study is an attempt to evaluate the social costs and benefits of continuing the program for the coming school year at the two of the largest participating post-secondary institutions, the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Simon Fraser University (SFU). The policy alternatives, therefore, are continuing the program or not in the next year.
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