The Student Council demands public transport passes
Parking fees on the university parking lots will be implemented on September 1st, but according to plan students will get discounted subscriptions for about 1500 krónur per month. The Student Council has been adamant about pushing the university to introduce a U-pass, similar to public transport cards known widely in Europe, alongside the introduction of these parking fees. The Council wants the pass to not only include a bus card for the bus company Strætó, but also include rent for scooters and other eco-friendly transportation. The University Council hasn’t approved this transportation pass for the coming year.
The Student Paper’s journalist got Rakel Anna Boulter, President of the Student Council, to explain this to our readers. She emphasizes the importance of cooperation between firms and institutes in the Vatnsmýri area with regards to decreasing the heaviness of the traffic to and from the area by directing commuters towards environmental transportation. She believes it’s contrary to the university's environmental goals to offer a parking pass for students and forgo the opportunity to introduce a public transport pass. She clarifies that despite the disappointment on the environmental side, she is nevertheless delighted that the university council did opt to lighten the financial loads of students with the option of a lower monthly fee.
Rakel Anna states that the university pushed towards this parking fee due to financial struggles, as the maintenance cost of the parking area is around fifty million krónur annually. She also mentioned that Strætó had offered the university a thirty million króna deal to subsidize student passes but alas, the university wasn’t able to pay such a fee. “The reason for the university’s reluctance to subsidize public transport for students is of course the fact that the university is financially starved and that is because of the government’s long standing financial starvation policy.” Rakel Anna is nowhere close to throwing in the towel, and does hope that the university will introduce an environmentally friendly transport pass in the coming years. “This fight isn’t over and the Student Council will continue to strive for the U-pass and more variety in public transport”.