Be wary of bus fees

The IU Student Association Congress has approved the Universal Bus Pass Initiative, which would increase student transportation fees an extra $30 next year, allowing any student to ride any campus bus by showing a student ID. The proposal now goes to the board of trustees and, if approved, could be enacted as early as next fall.\nWhile this sounds like a reasonable alternative to the transportation problems on campus, we would encourage the trustees to examine this issue very carefully as we have done because we're not so sure the details match the best interest of the student body as a whole.\n As with all concerns, we consider money to play a key factor. The mandatory transportation fee, which covers the Bloomington Transit bus and the IU Stadium Express for free use, is already $60 annually. The Universal Bus Pass Initiative would raise the transportation fee for 38,000 students by 50 percent to $90 annually for the use of all buses. \n According to IUSA Congress member Dan Shapiro as quoted in previous Indiana Daily Student reports, there are an estimated 5,500 students who currently have paid IU bus passes. Those campus bus passes currently cost $158 a year or 75 cents per ride.\nWhen the numbers are followed through, 5,500 campus bus passes add up to $869,000, while tacking on an additional $30 to every student nets $1.14 million. We question the discrepancy of more than a quarter-million dollars.\nWe also have concerns about the number of bus riders should this plan go into effect. If the buses were free to all students, we naturally imagine there would be an increase in riders. And as if some buses aren't full at the end of the day already -- when everyone can use them -- the issue of overcrowding would need to be addressed.\nWould extra buses and extra drivers be added? If not, more students would have to wait longer than they already do for the bus to come back around to take them home -- or worse, to take them to class tardy. The requested $30 increase only covers the existing services. If more buses and drivers were warranted, expect another transportation fee increase. \nWe certainly cannot deny that some students would benefit from the freedom to use any bus. Students who purchase campus bus passes would save $128 annually -- but at the expense of other students who pick up the slack. \nIf there were a way to ensure quality bus services, help solve the transportation problems on campus and answer our concerns with this new initiative, we would by all means support such a plan. But the idea of charging every student for a service that at this point, only seems like it would benefit a small percentage of the student body concerns us. It is our hope it concerns the trustees, as well.