U-PASS BC

U-Pass BC provides affordable access to public transit in Metro Vancouver for eligible students. A number of post-secondary institutions have joined the program.

U-Pass BC is a universal transit program offered by Douglas College in partnership with the Douglas Students’ Union (DSU), TransLink and the Province of British Columbia.

Douglas College students have participated in the U-Pass BC program since September 2011. In February 2019, the DSU held a U-Pass BC referendum and students voted in support of a renewed five year agreement starting January 1, 2020.

The Referendum passed with 91.95% of the vote.

  • To load and link your U-Pass, you will need to purchase a Compass Card from TransLink. Once you have a compass card, link the card to your U-Pass through the U-Pass BC website - https://upassbc.translink.ca/

    You will need to load your U-Pass onto your compass card each month. You can load the current month to your compass card at any point of the month. You can load next month's U-Pass on the 16th of each month for the next month. It can take up to 24 hours for your U-Pass to load, so we recommend loading it as soon as you can to not have any usage delays.

  • In February 2019, we held a referendum on campus and students at Douglas College voted 91.95% in favour of continuing the U-Pass program until April 2025.
    The DSU represented the Yes side of the Referendum. No one registered to represent the No side. As per the 2019 Election Report, there were no concerns or complaints raised about campaigning with respect to the Referendum.

    The referendum question students voted on was as follows:

    The U-Pass BC program has existed since 2011. The current price of $41 per month has not changed in 2 years and the current agreement expires December 31, 2019.
    There is a proposed five-year agreement between the Province of BC and TransLink to continue offering the U-Pass BC Program starting January 2020. The proposed structure extend the current rate at $41 per month until April 30, 2020. On May 1, 2020 the rate will be adjusted to $42.50 with annual increases of 2% until April 30, 2025.
    January 1, 2020 - April 30, 2020 - $41.00
    May 1, 2020 - April 30, 2021 - $42.50
    May 1, 2021 - April 30, 2022 - $43.35
    May 1, 2022 - April 30, 2023 - $44.20
    May 1, 2023 - April 30, 2024 - $45.10
    May 1, 2024 - April 30, 2025 - $46.00

    Are you in favour of continued participation for all eligible members in the U-Pass BC program with all participating Metro Vancouver post-secondary institutions at the proposed rate of $42.50 starting May 1, 2020, and allow for annual increases of up to 2% rounded to the nearest $0.05?
    Yes / No

    91.95% YES

  • No. All eligible students are required to participate exemptions can be granted.

    You may be exempt if you have a documented physical or psychological condition that prevents you from using public transit or if you have already purchased a U-Pass from another post-secondary institution.

    If you fall in to one of these categories, you will need to complete an exemption form with additional documentation. Email upassbc@douglascollege.ca for details or call 604-527-5770

    NOTE: There are exemption deadlines for each semester that need to be followed. Forms submitted past the deadline will not be processed. (Important: do not request your U-Pass BC on Compass Card if you are submitting a request for exemption.)

    Please review the website at https://www.douglascollege.ca/student-services/student-resources/u-pass-bc-compass-card