The ASUO signed the student bus pass contract with the Lane Transit District at the beginning of winter term, six months after the July deadline for signing the document.
Representatives for LTD and the ASUO offered differing explanations for the delay and contradicting statements about its effect on the student government’s coffers. Whatever the reason, the delay likely foreshadows a difficult negotiation over LTD’s contract for the 2011-12 school year, where the ASUO and LTD will come in with targets that could be as far apart as $200,000.
ASUO President Emma Kallaway said the ASUO delayed the signing in order to review LTD’s service maps in relation to the areas where students live, to see if the service was really effective. She said the delay saved students $17,000 in student fees that would otherwise have been paid to LTD.
“We were having trouble deciding whether the contract was as effective as we thought it was,” Kallaway said.
LTD spokesperson Andy Vobora, who negotiated the ASUO contract for LTD, said LTD delayed the negotiations in an attempt to be paid based on current, rather than projected, enrollment figures, and he said the ASUO will still pay the full amount for the contract.
“I’m not sure what she’s referring to,” Vobora said of Kallaway. “When they took off last spring, they had a lot of questions about it and chose not to proceed until they had answers.”
The ASUO’s contract with LTD allows students to show their student identification cards to ride on LTD buses. Student leaders view it as one of the ASUO’s most important contracts because it is one of the most widely used. It is also one of the largest: this year, the ASUO paid LTD more than $1 million, of which $120,000 funds the late-night 79x bus that runs between the University campus and the rest pays for student passes.
There is ongoing tension between the two over the manner in which the contract is negotiated. At the top of LTD’s list of grievances is the figure used to calculate the amount the ASUO pays. As with all its contracts, the ASUO calculates LTD’s contract using projected enrollment figures for the coming school year during winter term. In 2009, that number was 17,000 students, as compared to the 21,000 who actually enrolled. LTD attempts to charge all groups who negotiate bulk contracts $15.12 per person per term, but the number is lower for University students.
“It shouldn’t be hard (to negotiate the contract using accurate figures),” Vobora said. “I mean (Lane Community College) does it during the add-drop deadline.”
Student leaders, meanwhile, dislike having to pay for a contract whose costs increase every year. They also believe they are in a prime position to dictate the terms of the negotiations because of LTD’s tight finances.
In fall term, the ASUO Senate approved a budget projection for its contracts that included no increase for LTD. Meanwhile, LTD has said it will go into the negotiations for the 2010-11 school year asking for a 23 to 25 percent increase. This will account for an 84-cent per person increase in LTD’s group rate, but it will also use numbers from the current school year rather than projections for the next.
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