Scott Fielding (WINNIPEG.CA)
UPDATE: City council has given the U-Pass plan the green light, voting 13-2 in favour of the idea.
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Winnipeg’s city council will vote today on the proposed U-Pass transit program.
The executive policy committee approved the plan two weeks ago, which would see University of Manitoba and University of Winnipeg students pay a reduced fee of $260 for a two-semester transit pass.
While the plan needs council approval, St.James-Brooklands Councillor Scott Fielding has already decided against it.
“This is a perfect example of why the city is broken. We can’t afford to do everything. We need to prioritize spending on fixing roads before we look at further subsidizing certain groups in our city,” Fielding said earlier this week.
The cost of the program is expected to add up to $15 million over the next five years.
Fielding suggests the city spend $9 million on roads and $1 million on student job-training and co-op programs over that same time period.
“As a potential candidate for Mayor, it would the easiest thing in the world to stand up and support this but city leaders must make tough choices to help Winnipeg address the crisis with roads in our community first.”
