Bus pass gains momentum

By Torleif Sorenson

In the September edition of The Metropolitan, we told you about the return of Metro Transit’s GoTo College Pass at Metropolitan State University. This card provides Metropolitan State students with unlimited rides on buses and light rail for an entire semester. The cards are available for fall 2009 semester, and even if you’re waiting until now to purchase yours it is still worth the money.

Given the success of the subsidized version of this card during the previous academic year, the Student Senate is working on making the card available at a price comparable with the U-Pass card, which is available to students at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities for a smaller cost.

Safety in numbers
Student Senate President Melissa Heinz is working on a group called the Metro Alliance Initiative (MAI), which is intended to organize students not just at Metropolitan State, but at the 10 other Twin Cities-area schools in the Minnesota State Colleges and University (MnSCU) system. She says, “This is actually the continuation of the shuttle initiative and the Bus Pass Subsidy Program. It is an enduring effort to assist students in finding alternative and affordable means of getting to and between campuses. We want to bring the 11 Metro Alliance institutions together to submit a proposal to Metro Transit, which would allow all MnSCU students the option of riding buses at a reduced rate.”

Across the metropolitan area
In addition to Metropolitan State University, the 10 other Alliance schools involved are:
Anoka-Ramsey Community College (Coon Rapids)
Anoka Technical College (Anoka)
Century College (White Bear Lake)
Dakota County Technical College (Rosemount)
Hennepin Technical College (Brooklyn Park and Eden Prairie)
Inver Hills Community College (Inver Grove Heights)
North Hennepin Community College (Brooklyn Park)
Minneapolis Community & Technical College Normandale Community College (Bloomington)
Saint Paul College

As of press time, the project is underway. The Senate is contacting the 10 two-year institutions to garner support from their student governments and collect information on the current practices associated with bus cards, shuttle services and other transit-related programs.

The Senate is also researching the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities’ U-Pass program, in which cardholding students are able to ride Metro Transit buses and trains—along with those of cooperating transit authorities—on an unlimited basis.

Heinz sees encouraging signs: “Once the preliminary information has been collected, we will be writing a proposal to ensure all MnSCU campuses have been considered for optimal cost savings and benefit. We hope to have the proposal drafted by the end of fall semester, signed by each campus’s student governments. We will also be approaching State Senator Sandy Pappas, chair of the Higher Education Committee; Senator Steve Murphy, chair of the Transportation Committee; and Senator Satveer Chaudhary, chair of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee, for their endorsement.”

A need indeed Given the sour economy and the rising unemployment rate, increasing numbers of students are either driving less or have stopped driving altogether. Metro Transit’s GoTo College Pass already provides a fast and convenient way for students to get around the metropolitan area. But if the Metro Alliance Initiative succeeds with their plan, more Metropolitan State students would be able to acquire these cards, perhaps for a noticeably lower cost.

The Metropolitan will be following this story throughout the 2009-10 academic year. In the meantime, the Student Senate welcomes your feedback and input (as always): On campus: New Main, Room L207, by phone: (651) 793-1554 or visit their Web site: http://senate.metrostate.edu