The Universal Transit Pass increases the mobility of University of Minnesota students around the metro, while also pushing forward sustainability initiatives. 

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At the end of every semester, Derek Wong, a senior at the University of Minnesota, hops on the Route Two bus, gets off at Franklin Avenue and connects to a Blue Line train that takes him right to MSP Airport where he boards a plane back to Washington. 

This route to the airport only costs Wong a few cents, as opposed to the Lyfts he used to take, which he said would cost upwards of $35 each time. 

Wong is one of many students who takes advantage of the university’s universal transit pass nearly every day, a program started in 2022 which allows for unlimited Metro Transit rides for $45 per semester. The UTP continues to expand the mobility of students, with 261,921 rides taken in February 2024 alone, marking an 53% increase from February 2023, according to data from Metro Transit. 

From U-Pass to UTP

Students who pay the transportation and safety fee each semester can opt into the UTP, according to parking and transportation services. The pass can then be activated through their student ID card for unlimited access to the regional Metro Transit system in the Twin Cities.

This pass succeeds the previous U-Pass system, which cost students $100 per semester, according to Metro Transit. 

The push for a less expensive pass came to provide more equitable access to transportation, said Assistant Director of parking and transportation services Lonetta Hanson. Moreover, the UTP was designed to reduce the university’s carbon footprint while expanding student’s access to affordable food options and a greater diversity of housing choices. 

“By addressing these interconnected goals, the UTP aimed to enhance the overall wellbeing and inclusivity of the university community,” Hanson said. 

The UTP is more affordable than other college transit passes, beating out the minimum $1 per day U-Pass system used at 32 colleges across the nation, including Arizona State University and Northwestern University, according to the U-Pass website. U-Pass costs vary from school-to-school at $150 per school year at ASU and $125 per quarter at Northwestern, but both are higher than the $90 per year UTP. 

UTP pushes university and Minneapolis climate goals forward

The university outlined clear objectives in their 2023 Climate Action Plan toward more sustainable transportation. In particular, one goal aimed to shift students from using 23% single occupancy vehicles to 16% by 2033 by promoting low-carbon options like rideshare and public transit. 

Transportation is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, accounting for 29%, according to the EPA. Among these emissions, light-duty vehicles– which include everyday commuter cars, trucks and SUVs– contribute to over half of the environmental impact.

The UTP is helping to make strides toward the reduction of single occupancy vehicles, resulting in 1.2 million transit rides as of September 2023, according to Hanson. Further, the pass has seen a 61% increase in ridership year-over-year, demonstrating an ongoing push toward public transit.

Source: Ridership data from Metro Transit

The UTP has also boosted overall Metro Transit ridership, supporting Minneapolis’ goal of doubling regional transit ridership by 2030, which is described in their 10-year climate action plan.

“This surge not only benefits the university but also mirrors Metro Transit’s systemwide ridership growth of about 15% during the same period, underscoring the programs’ impact in promoting transit utilization and reducing single occupancy vehicles,” Hanson said.

Students build sustainable habits

Students reported using the pass for commuting to classes, to work and to downtown sports games and nightlife activities. One student, Kenzie Garvin, said she uses the metro buses since they are more reliable than the campus buses. 

“Often the city transit comes quicker than the GopherTrip buses, so I just hop on,” Garvin said. 

This introduction of students to reliable public transit through the UTP may create an even longer-term environmental impact. 

Students said in interviews learning how the bus and train systems work through the UTP has made them more comfortable with navigating around the Twin Cities, and they plan to utilize these systems well into the future past graduation.

“Now I know what I’m doing,” said Ella Goede, a junior at the university. “I think learning these systems will be super helpful in the long run if I continue to live in Minneapolis, or really in any city.”

Eric Lind, the director of the Accessibility Observatory within the university’s Center for Transportation Studies, expressed hope in this trend of students’ use of the UTP promoting the utilization of public transportation later in life. 

“Undoubtedly the universal passes increase use of transportation, and if the system is serving the needs of the riders through speed and reliability, this should increase confidence in transit and affinity for using it as people age out of college as well,” Lind said. 

Looking toward the future

As the UTP continues to grow in ridership, Metro Transit is working toward making their services more accessible and reliable through the NetworkNOW program.

The NetworkNOW program is Metro Transit’s plan to adapt services to changing travel patterns, which will include adding and modifying routes while increasing the staffing of services by 2027.  

Cyndi Harper, the manager of route planning for Metro Transit, said for the university community this will involve doubling down on the existing services that are already offered around campus, since they are among the most widely used routes in the metro area.

“That stretch between U of M campus and the Como neighborhood I would say is probably the most frequent service that we have at this point, so we have to be the most strategic about planning there,” Harper said. 

Harper said Metro Transit will work to improve the frequency of services in the Como neighborhood and surrounding areas, as well as expand the hours they run earlier in the morning and later at night. Additionally, they plan to get the Blue and Green Line trains running every ten minutes, rather than the 15 minute intervals they run at now. 

Metro Transit will also be opening the E Line, which is a new bus-rapid transit service that will provide faster transportation along Route Six from the university to Southdale, according to Harper.

A win-win

These enhancements introduced by Metro Transit, coupled with the ongoing utilization of the UTP, promise continued benefits to the university, according to the Twin Cities Director of Campus Sustainability Kate Nelson. 

“Reducing barriers to mobility will always be a win, both to the campus community of riders and the environment,” Nelson said.