College Student Transit Pass Programs (2018)

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5 Background Universities and colleges across North America, old or new, suburban or urban, are grappling with transportation challenges, traffic and parking issues, and the costs of attending college. At the same time, public transit systems are also faced with reductions in federal and state/provincial funding and flat or declining transit ridership. To deal with these challenges, a number of universities and transit agencies have created universal student transit pass programs or U-Pass programs to assist college students (and faculty and staff) in using public transit. The transit pass offers campus users a deeply discounted fare and provides the local transit system with guaranteed revenue, with the fees prepaid by the university and passed on to users. U-Pass programs have a variety of potential benefits, such as increased student transit rider- ship, reduced demand for campus parking, use of off-peak transit capacity, improved college affordability, and improved transit agency performance. Programs at different locations differ in funding, fare and operating structures, and student demographics. A synthesis of information about these programs could be very useful for universities and transit agencies who currently serve college students or who desire to serve these populations in the future. This report will assist transit agencies, universities, and communities with the development and evaluation of college student transit pass programs. The study focuses on the relationship estab- lished between transit systems and institutions and will document current state of the practice. Definitions In this report, terms that are frequently used are as follows: Universal Pass/U-Pass We use the term U-Pass for a universal student pass. This is an unlimited transit pass for uni- versity or college students who meet certain requirements. Typically, the pass holder can ride at any time and to any place on the host transit system. The eligibility requirements may relate to a minimum credit load or to payment of a student fee. U-Pass, U-PASS, U.PASS, UPASS, and UPass are various names of the pass in different locations, but the pass sometimes has a differ- ent name given by the university, such as “class pass.” The term U-Pass is used in this report to represent these types of programs. Transit Agency/Operator The term transit agency/operator is any organization that provides bus, rail, or other types of service to the general public including students. C h a p t e r 1 Introduction

6 College Student transit pass programs University, College, Institution, School In this report, the terms university, college, institution, and school are used interchangeably for any post-secondary educational organization. These can be public or private, 2-year or 4-year, general purpose or specific (medical schools, etc.), residential or commuter, local or national. Universities differ substantially in campus size, enrollments, academic programs, and the type of student served. A pass program can also be different depending on the specific characteristics of the institution. Student Referendum A student referendum is a direct vote organized by the student association on the U-Pass program approval or renewal. This process is a choice of the individual universities, generally occurring if student segregated fees are involved. Student Fees Student fees are those fees that students pay in addition to tuition and are used for items beyond the basic instruction cost. These fees are placed in separate funds to pay for costs such as student union buildings, athletic activities, student organizations, student news- papers, recreational programs, and transit services. Other terms used are activity fees or segregated fees. Shuttle The term shuttle refers to services that are operated by a university exclusively for its students, faculty, and staff. The shuttles are used to connect different campuses, to connect dorms or remote parking lots to the campus, or to provide circulation on the campus. Smart Cards Fare cards that identify the type of user and carry an ID number are called smart cards. These cards are “tapped” at the fare box when users are boarding a vehicle, and the time of use, the route number, and other information are recorded at that time. Methodology The investigators gathered the information reported in this synthesis from three sources: (1) a literature review, (2) an on-line survey received from 21 out of 25 locations with college student transit pass programs, and (3) an in-depth study of five case examples from a cross- section of communities and programs that varied in system size and geography. The literature review focused on U-Pass history, program design and implementation (e.g., phases, participants, student referenda, finance, technology, and so forth), and potential impacts and benefits from the perspectives of all the participants. The literature review examined pub- lished essays and reports related to the topic using on-line databases such as TRB’s Transpor- tation Research Information Documentation (TRID), American Public Transit Association (APTA), and Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA). The investigators found additional reports and other background resources using agency and institution webpages from some sur- vey respondents that show their system characteristics. Chapter 2 reports key data and findings from the literature review.

Introduction 7 The second source of information was an on-line survey questionnaire. To determine the relationships between transit systems and partner institutions efficiently, the survey ques- tionnaire had two forms: Part I for transit agencies and Part II for partner institutions (see Appendix A-1). Chapter 3 reports the results of this data collection. Five transit systems were selected for more in-depth study, based on the size of the campuses and agencies, the model of operations, and the age of the programs. The investigators prepared an interview guide (see Appendix A-2) and conducted telephone or in-person interviews with respondents from the case examples. Chapter 4 documents and analyzes the results of the case example interviews. Organization of the Report This report is organized into five chapters. Chapter 1 includes the background, definitions, and methodology of the project and the organization of the report. Chapter 2 summarizes the literature review of U-Pass programs with a focus on the program history, their design and imple- mentation, and their impacts. Chapter 3 describes the characteristics of the responding agencies and their partner institutions and summarizes the findings from the on-line survey responses. This information includes how U-Pass programs were developed, operated, and evaluated among transit agencies, universities, and communities. Chapter 4 describes five case examples of U-Pass programs to illustrate the U-Pass history, their program finances, the technology used, the design and implementation of services, and the potential benefits and challenges. Chapter 5 presents primary findings about the current state of the practice of U-Pass programs. The appendices include the survey questionnaires and the interview guide (Appendixes A-1 and A-2); website links viewed for surveyed programs (Appendixes B-1 and B-2); U-Pass strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat (SWOT) analysis from the literature review (Appen- dix C); and U-Pass sample agreements (Appendixes D-1 through D-4).