Beginning in fall 2022, more than 39,000 University of Minnesota students who pay a Transportation and Safety Fee gained access to a Universal Transit Pass (UTP). The UTP allows students unlimited rides on regional public transit providers by way of their student ID (U Card).
The technology behind the UTP lies within a dual-chip HID card containing both iClass and MiFare chips, with transit systems taking advantage of the latter. The dual-chip U Card has been distributed on the Twin Cities campus since 2016 in preparation for the arrival of the UTP program.
The U of M is the largest school to offer students unlimited ride transit passes in the Twin Cities region, which is served by Metro Transit and its parent agency, the Metropolitan Council. The UTP represents a 74% cost savings for students wishing to use public transit and serves to provide students equitable access to public transit systems, including increasing access to healthy, affordable food options. Another goal of the project is furthering campus sustainability.
“Students expressed their strong support for expanding access to destinations in a sustainable way, which is what transit offers,” said Ross Allanson, director of Parking and Transportation Services at the University of Minnesota.
The UTP project was approved by the University’s Board of Regents in July and exists as a partnership between the Metropolitan Council and the University of Minnesota’s Parking & Transportation Services and U Card offices.
The U Card Office at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities distributes an average of 27,000 cards annually to University students, staff, and faculty. U Cards provide building access on campus, meal plans, and a host of other services.
“There's a lot of excitement across campus that students now have access to buses and light-rail trains in the Twin Cities metro,” said Stephen Courchane, U Card Office Director. “It's a great convenience that we were able to add this service directly to the U Card so that students do not need to carry an additional credential to access the Universal Transit Pass service.”
For inquiries and additional information, please contact Nick Mabee, Communications and Marketing Manager for the U Card Office, at [email protected].