The referendum would have created a $25 quarterly undergraduate fee for busses and shuttles. Director of Parking and Transportation Services Brian d’Autremont said the fee would have been necessary to maintain current levels of free public transportation, and that the initiative’s failure will result in the elimination of popular bus lines.

D’Autremont met with A.S. President Utsav Gupta and Chancellor Marye Anne Fox on Tuesday to discuss the referendum, with the Chancellor acting as a mediator between the two parties.

D’Autremont said he had hoped the council would see the transportation department’s need for funding. Before the meeting, he said the referendum’s failure would be a blow to sustainability.

“I really want this referendum to pass because it’s important for sustainability,” he said. “I think most people support this, and if it doesn’t pass, it would be a big hit for financially disadvantaged students.”

Although d’Autremont said results of the transportation survey sent out last April prove that students support the referendum, Gupta said the results were skewed.

“D’Autremont says that — based on answers from surveys that the transportation system administered — students are in favor of the Transportation Referendum,” Gupta said. “However, if you read the survey carefully, it states that students want user fees instead of reductions, which is not what d’Autremont is offering.”

Gupta said he believes there are alternatives to running a student-fee referendum.

“We’re being blackmailed into making a decision which is not the most beneficial for students,” he continued. “There are other ways to find revenue than asking for money from students.”

Gupta created an A.S. committee to lobby at meetings of the Transportation Policy Committee — the committee that is asking d’Autremont to raise $3 million to maintain the current public-transportation system.

Transfer Senator Adam Powers is currently the only student representative on the TPC, and will be working with Gupta on the joint committee.

The council also tabled voting on the Athletic Referendum until next week,. That referendum would renew a $12 quarterly Canyonview Pool fee set to expire in 2013, and increase the fee to $22.

The council nonetheless approved a referendum to charter a Sports Facility Advisory Board, which would oversee the use of funds generated by the proposed Athletic Referendum.

Readers can contact Angela Chen at [email protected].