GSA U-PASS

U-Pass offers students huge savings for transportation on Saskatoon Transit. U-Pass is mandatory for full-time graduate students at the U of S.

The cost of U-Pass for the Winter term is $129.87. 

Post-doctoral and graduate students registered in any of the federated or affiliated colleges of the University of Saskatchewan, who are GSA members and have a valid NSID number, may purchase the UPASS from the GSA at this discounted price. In order to do this, please contact the GSA Office via email at gsa.admn@usask.ca. The 2024/2025 academic year GSA membership is $77.80. Membership is valid from September 1, 2024 to August 31, 2025. 

U-Pass is mandatory for full-time graduate students at the U of S and students are automatically enrolled for the Winter term. Winter Term U-Pass can be loaded on your phone but can’t be activated until January 1. Winter Term U-Pass allows you to access Saskatoon Transit from January 1 to April 30. You will be able to activate your U-Pass on your phone after the start of the term (12:00 am on January 1st for the Winter Term).

Students who are assessed the U-Pass fee, but wish to opt out can do so if they meet the following opt-out eligibility criteria:

• students living outside the corporate limits for City of Saskatoon;
• students required to be away from Saskatoon working or doing research for more than half of an academic year;
• students enrolled exclusively in distance education courses or programs (this does not include remote);
• students who hold a disability parking pass for the U of S;
• students who are eligible for discounted passes under Saskatoon Transit's agreement with Social Services; and
• students who live in on-campus residences (Voyageur Place) - please note that students who live off campus residences don't meet this criteria.

To apply for the U-Pass Opt-Out click OPT-OUT application button at the top of the page.

IMPORTANT:  If the above links do not work, please consider clearing caches and trying again.  

Note: Please make sure to log in to your PAWS account when you are filling the opt-out form. 

Opt-out applications may be submitted online by August 21, 2024, for eligible students enrolled in Fall Term. You will be required to submit a U-Pass opt-out application each term. The last day to submit opt-out applications for eligible students enrolled in Winter Term is January 17, 2025. Completed online forms are due no later than 4:30 pm.

To use your smartphone as your UPass follow these instructions:

In order for you to use the U-Pass, please follow the instructions below:

Setup your smartphone: 

(If you had your phone setup for previous U-Pass, you can skip to the "Load your U-Pass" section)

1. Go to your phone’s app store and download the Saskatoon Transit mobile ticketing app, Transit Go (TGo) 

   	Link to Apple’s App Store
   	Link to Google Play Store

2. Once you have downloaded and installed the app, follow these steps to create an account:
3. Open the Transit Go app, and in the top right corner, click the three lines to be presented with the Utilities menu
4. Select “My Account”
5. Select “New account” if you haven’t created an account for the Transit Go app
6. Enter your Usask email address in this format abc123@usask.ca  
   It is essential that you use that email format, do not use abc123@mail.usask.ca or firstname.lastname@usask.ca. If you do not use the abc123@usask.ca format, PAWS will not recognize your account, and your U-Pass will not be available on your phone.
   Enter a password for your Transit Go account; we recommend not using the same password as your University accounts.
   After entering your password a second time, select the “Create a new account” button.
7. Check your Usask email account (abc123@usask.ca) for a verification email from Saskatoon Transit. The email will be from noreply@justride.com (if you don’t see it within 5 minutes, check your spam/junk folder)
8. You will need to click the Verify Account link in the email to complete your account creation setup
9. After you have verified your account, you can follow the next steps on “Load Your U-Pass.”

Load your U-Pass onto your smartphone:

1. 1. Log in to PAWS and go to the U-Pass portal paws.usask.ca/go/upass
   2. You will then be shown a list of term options available to you.
   3. If the system shows that you are not eligible for a U-Pass, you are either:
      1. not enrolled in classes for that term.
      2. only taking classes that do not have the U-Pass fee associated with them.
   4. If you are eligible for a U-Pass for a term, you will see a [Activate] button next to the list, click that button.
   5. Check your Your Saskatoon Transit Go app, your U-Pass will appear on your mobile phone in less than 3 minutes.
   6. If you don't see the pass after that time, select the "My Passes" button in the app and press the refresh icon in the top right corner.
   7. You will then be able to activate your U-Pass on your phone after the start of the term (after 12:00 am on January 1st, 2024 for the Winter Term)

   Please ensure that you have thoroughly read all information concerning Using your U-Pass, opt-in and opt-out procedures prior to sending inquiries about the U-Pass. If you have further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact gsa.admn@usask.ca

• You pay less per month than the adult rate per month for an adult bus pass.
• Taking the bus reduces your carbon footprint and helps reduce pollution in general.
• Increased use of transit can reduce traffic on campus and in surrounding areas making them friendlier to pedestrians and cyclists.
• Transit provides access to most areas of the city, mitigating the need for cash-strapped students to own cars.
• You don't have to pay for expensive parking on campus.

To prevent fraudulent use of the U-Pass, or the use of an invalid U-Pass, and to protect the integrity of the U-Pass Program, Saskatoon Transit will have the right to request of any person using the U-Pass to provide additional proof of graduate student status at the University of Saskatchewan. The parties agree that any graduate student who cannot produce additional proof of graduate student status may be refused a ride.

Saskatoon Transit may, at its discretion, impose penalties, prosecute  and offer no refund of payment if a graduate student enrolled in the U-Pass Program:

• Attempts to use a fraudulent U-Pass. 
• Permits the use of a U-Pass by another or attempts to transfer a U-Pass to another.
• Attempts to use an invalid U-Pass.