UPass offers students huge savings for transportation on Saskatoon Transit.

The cost of the UPass for Fall 2022 is $119.65. 

The cost of the UPass for Winter 2023 is $119.65. 

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 2022/2023 academic year GSA membership is $74.12. Membership is valid from September 1, 2022 to August 31, 2023. 

August 21, 2023

Fall Term U-Pass can be loaded on your phone but can’t be activated until September 1. Fall Term U-Pass allows you to access Saskatoon Transit from September 1 to December 31. You will be required to activate your U-Pass each term.

August 21, 2023

Opt-out applications may be submitted online for eligible students enrolled in Fall Term. You will be required to submit your U-Pass opt-out application each term.

August 31, 2023

Summer Term U-Pass is deactivated at the end of the day. Fall Term U-Pass will be required effective September 1, 2023.

September 1, 2023

Fall Term U-Pass is active. You will be able to activate your U-Pass on your phone after the start of the term (12:00 am on September 1st for the Fall Term).

September 19, 2023

Last day to submit opt-out applications for eligible students enrolled in Fall Term. Completed online forms are due no later than 4:30 pm.

December 31, 2023

Fall Term U-Pass is deactivated at the end of the day. Winter Term U-Pass will be required effective January 1, 2024.

How to Opt-In to the Fall UPass:

If you have not been assessed the U-Pass fee, after September 1st, 2023 you can contact Student Central via Student Central inquiry form using your U of S email account, and ask to have your account assessed the V-Fee (Voluntary Fees). When you see the U-PASS fee (GSA Saskatoon Transit Fee) appear on your student account summary (PAWS), please follow the instructions below in the section titled "Using your U-PASS". There is no deadline to opt-in to the U-PASS for the Fall 2023 term.

NOTE:  You cannot just have the UPass fee only added. The V-Fee includes ALL student fees such as Athletic, Recreation, Wellness etc. For details, please check out the 2023-24 Graduate Student Fees.

When you see the UPass fee (which will show as GSA Saskatoon Transit Fee) on your account summary, please follow the tab below titled To Use Your Smartphone as U-Pass which provides more information.

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.

The last day to apply for the Fall 2023 term Opt-Out is September 19th, 2023 at 4:30 p.m. Opt-Out applications completed after the deadline will NOT be accepted

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. 

To use your smartphone as your UPass follow these instructions:

In order for you to use the UPASS, please follow the instructions below:

Setup your smartphone: 

(If you had your phone setup for prevoius 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)
2. Once you have downloaded and installed the app, follow these steps to create an account:
   1. Open the Transit Go app and in the top right corner, click the three lines to be presented with the Utilities menu
   2. Select "My Account"
   3. Select "New account" if you haven't created an account for the Transit Go app
   4. Enter your Usask email address in this format abc123@usask.ca
      1. It is very important that you use that email format, do not use abc123@mail.usask.ca or firstname.lastname@usask.ca. If you do not use that format, PAWS will not recognize your account and your U-Pass will not be available on your phone.
      2. Enter a password for your Transit Go account, we recommend not using the same password as your University accounts.
      3. After entering your password a second time, select the "Create a new account" button.
   5. 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)
   6. You will need to click the Verify Account link in the email to complete your account creation setup
   7. After you have verified your account, you can follow the next steps on PAWS.

Load your U-Pass onto your smartphone:

1. 1. Login 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 an [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 September 1st, 2023 for the Fall 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.

Please review our FAQs here.