> News+Events > Features > Transit + Transportation

New transit pass for college students is a hit

Normandale, St. Thomas students buy most passes

The price is right. The student doesn’t own a car. It’s a tool that fits with a belief in the benefits of public transportation.

According to a recent Metro Transit survey, those were the three top reasons why students from 11 local colleges and trade schools bought a Go-To College Pass, a demonstration program designed to promote student commuting by bus or train during the 2006-2007 school year.

Students pass their “Go-To” card over a card reader as they board the bus.

Metro Transit surveyed students to gauge the program’s effectiveness after first being offered for fall semester, said John Siqveland, market development specialist at Metro Transit. Over the fall, 620 students used the new pass.

“The survey results tell us that students are happy with the pass,” Siqveland said. “They are telling us that the product is excellent, and their responses confirm that we're marketing the benefits correctly.”

Pass uses new on-board “Go-To” technology

The Go-To College Pass provides unlimited rides at one price over a semester and uses “Go-To” technology, allowing holders to touch the card to a card reader so the fare is registered instantly. The technology means faster boarding and precise tracking and accounting of program users. The program also allows each school to subsidize the pass if they want. (A similar program, subsidized by student fees, is available to University of Minnesota students. The U-Pass program has about 18,000 participants.)

Nearly 540 students who provided e-mail addresses were asked to complete the survey. Of that group, nearly 30 percent responded. The survey was conducted over two weeks in late November and early December. See snapshot of results.

Because of the early success of the program, Metro Transit plans to expand the program to another two schools in the spring.

User profile: Chris Lukolyo, University of St. Thomas

A first-year graduate student at the University of St. Thomas, Chris Lukolyo uses his Go-To College Pass to commute from his home in Columbia Heights to classes in downtown Minneapolis. He also uses it to get to places other than school, since he doesn’t own a car.

Lukolyo, who participated in the survey, bought his pass in August last year. Normandale Community College and University of St. Thomas have the most students using the Go-To College Pass, according to ridership data.

“The pass is really convenient,” Lukolyo said. “Even when I’m low on money, I know that I can get to school and back home without a problem.”

Lukolyo — a new transit user — plans to buy another Go-To College Pass this spring.