Metro Transit, hand in hand with the University of Minnesota, has unveiled a regional transit pass offering unlimited rides for some 39,000 U of M students in the Twin Cities.
Students will no longer be invited to opt into a $114 regional transit pass each semester. The cost has dropped to $45, which is now rolled into their obligatory student fees.
Students enrolled for the fall semester who pay the university’s transportation and safety fee — required of most undergrads on campus — will automatically receive a universal transit pass offering unlimited access wherever Metro Transit goes, including routes operated by suburban transit providers. The pass also provides a reduced fare on the Northstar commuter rail.
The transportation and safety fee, which previously covered on-campus transit and safety programs, has increased to $71, up from $26 per semester in 2021-2022.
The U has discontinued its longstanding U-Pass program, established in 2000, which offered an opt-in unlimited ride pass at $114 per semester. A separate campus zone pass allowed students, faculty and staff to ride between three Green Line stops at no charge. It also has been discontinued.
In Minneapolis, the U of M is served by the Green Line light rail corridor, as well as local and express bus routes. Buses also serve the St. Paul campus. Staff and faculty can still purchase the employer-based Metropass at a discount. The Metropass offers unlimited rides on a monthly basis.
The U of M is the largest school to offer all students unlimited ride transit passes that can be used throughout the region.
Universal Pass programs also are in effect at Augsburg University, Macalester College, Anoka Ramsey Community College, Anoka Technical College and Normandale Community College. Metro Transit officials said ridership at Augsburg and Macalester nearly doubled after Universal Passes were introduced at those schools.