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College’s Planned Changes: Planned Booking System
The college has recently informed the GCSU that they plan to introduce a booking system next year, whereby students will need to reserve a place at a particular hall in advance of the night.
The GCSU’s Proposal
In response to both the existing inflexibilities of having to dine 43 times a term and added inflexibility caused by the proposed system, the GCSU is proposing an alternative system whereby students:
1. Pay a kitchen fixed charge (KFC), at a similar level as other colleges (e.g. £146 per term)
2. Need to only buy 30 hall meals per term at £3 each, with the choice to take as many additional meals as they prefer
All numbers are for indicative purposes and subject to negotiations.
College have indicated to the GCSU that the proposed system is feasible and will consider implementing it, including a reduction in the number of meals they need to buy, so long as they are convinced students support it.
The GCSU is therefore putting the proposal to a vote of the entire undergraduate body this week, to gauge the student body’s opinions on the idea and to seek students’ support on the proposal.
The Benefits to Students Explained
The GCSU is encouraging students to recognise the benefits of the proposal. A survey run by the GCSU last term to see how many dinner tickets students have left over found that just over 30% of students used all of their 43 tickets; this was as low as 23% in Lent term last year. Under the new proposals (using the indicative figures the GCSU has proposed):
Students who eat 30 dinners per term or fewer will pay £236, nearly £40 less than the £275.20 they currently spend, and will get exactly the same as before.
Students who attend hall between 30 and 43 times per term will spend £236 plus £3 per ticket that is in addition their 30th, still saving money and getting the same
Students who use exactly 43 dinner tickets per term will pay exactly the same as before, but will have the flexibility to buy additional tickets at £3 each rather than £6.40, or save £3 if they cannot attend hall on a particular night.
Students who need to buy more than 43 dinner tickets will save money under the system as they will now pay just £3 per additional ticket and not £6.40 (bearing in mind they cannot borrow tickets from a friend under a booking system)
FAQs regarding our proposal
1) But it means I have to pay more per ticket
That’s assuming you go the minimum number of times per term. If you go 43 times, it won’t affect how much you pay. If you end-up going fewer than 43 times per term, you end up paying less in total, as you’re only paying for what you eat. This is clearly better, as you get the choice to pay less.
2) Why can’t you push for no required dinner tickets at all?
The tutors have indicated to us that they view it as important to college atmosphere that students come together to dine in hall regularly. This is in part to ensure quieter freshers have the opportunity to make friends. It is also because we lack full kitchen facilities in gyp rooms (due to fire regulations).
Not all costs can be split into a fixed and variable costs; some are inevitably “semi-variable”.
3) Why can’t you argue for a straight reduction in dinner tickets as we pay for them now, without a KFC?
As we see it, students want as much flexibility as possible so we want to reduce the minimum number of tickets they have to buy by as much as possible.
In past years, the GCSU has pushed for a straight reduction in dinner tickets, but the largest reductions we’ve agreed with college have been on the order of 2 or 3 fewer dinner tickets a term. This is principally because Caius catering runs at a loss already and fewer dinner tickets means there is less money to cover both the meal costs (which would go down with a reduction in people dining) and the overheads (which would still stay as high as they are). This would mean rent, dinner ticket prices or some other student charge would have to increase.
Separating costs into a KFC and meal costs means that we don’t have this problem and so college can feasibly reduce the number of tickets we have to buy without increasing their own losses.
This is why we can push for such a substantial reduction in the number of tickets we are required to buy.
4) Why can’t you push for cheaper dinner tickets? If I buy 43 tickets I’ll pay the same – I thought the booking system was supposed to create savings that would be passed onto us!
No one knows how much money the booking system will save in food costs. Therefore, we cannot negotiate cuts in prices just yet (once the cost savings become evident, college have reassured us they will be passed-on in full)
We believe having a KFC system will make life more flexible when proposing a reduction in costs as it will be easier to reduce the “fixed” and “variable” portions of costs separately, allowing all students to benefit from cost reductions in proportion to how much they use hall (which, for all you economists, will minimise distortions!)
5) I spend £15 per night on dinner when I don’t go to hall, and only use dinner tickets because I have to. So this means I’ll have to pay more!
You don’t HAVE to pay more. Your £15 meal is probably a lot nicer food than hall. Plus, you get the option to still go to hall and spend the same you do on hall now, just more flexibility along the side.
6) If I order more than 30, how do I get the ticket? How much will it cost?
The plan as it stands: Paper tickets will be obsolete. When you book for hall next year you will need to sign-on to book for hall, using Raven (like with the GCSU website). Once the booking’s been made, you’ll need to present your blue Uni card at the door to get into hall.
7) But when I run out of tickets I just get them free off my friend, so why would I want to buy tickets at £3 when I can get them free?
With a booking system in place next year getting tickets off your friends will no longer be possible.
8) How does this affect grads and fourth years, who buy 16 or 8 dinner tickets a term?
Quite simply, it doesn’t! This concerns JCR members only.
