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Douglas College joins U-Pass program

About 10,000 Douglas College students will be riding transit with U-Passes this September. Douglas College inked a deal with TransLink and the province to provide the U-Pass in late June.

About 10,000 Douglas College students will be riding transit with U-Passes this September.

Douglas College inked a deal with TransLink and the province to provide the U-Pass in late June.

With the agreement, students will pay $30 a month for a pass that allows them to travel through all of TransLink's zones in the Lower Mainland.

"We're excited to have it. We're looking forward to a more sustainable, greener transportation option for our students," said Blaine Jensen, Douglas College's vice-president of educational services.

Jensen said reaching the agreement took over a year of difficult negotiations with TransLink and the province, and a 96 per cent approval from Douglas students in a referendum held in January.

Douglas students join about 160,000 other students from Simon Fraser University, Langara College, the University of British Columbia and Capilano University, who already have the U-Pass.

While students are not allowed to opt out of the U-Pass program if they prefer to drive, Jensen said the program will be popular overall.

"There will be some students who live in communities where there aren't enough transportation options, but 96 per cent of our students said they wanted this and they're looking forward to it, and it goes along with the college's sustainability goals to be a greener institution," he said.

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