ASU Parking and Transit Services will provide all students with free semester passes for local Valley Metro bus routes as part of a trial program beginning this fall.
PTS is running the program to test whether free access to public transportation would benefit students, said Linda Riegel, associate director of PTS.
"We're going to lose 25 percent of our current parking spaces over the next five years [to new buildings]," Riegel said. "We're trying to position ourselves to think in the long term."
University planning officials said the program's goal is to increase use of the bus system to and from campus, and also to provide transportation for on-campus residents who do not own a vehicle.
The pilot program will last for two semesters, during which time PTS will pay for the passes. Officials were not able to confirm how much the program will cost.
Should the program continue into the 2006-07 academic year, PTS would need to find a funding source, Riegel said. Possible sources would be to raise parking decal prices or institute a student fee, she added.
"This is the most common way for universities to fund this program," Riegel said.
Riegel said students would pay a higher decal price in exchange for less traffic congestion on and around campus. Riegel estimated that such a fee would cost around $10 per semester. Valley Metro offers a semester pass to students for $120.
Robert Yabes, Tempe principal planner for transportation, said ASU would pay Valley Metro a flat rate for all students to use transit.
"The higher the volume of passengers you get, the cheaper it becomes," he said.
Yabes said that, based on a survey of bus ridership conducted by Tempe, Valley Metro would not lose money during the project.
Aerospace engineering junior John Merrill drives to campus from Gilbert, but said he would use a free bus pass if efficient service was available. "It's cheaper than parking," he said.
Jamie Knapp, a psychology senior and Chandler resident, said she would not use the bus even if it were free for students. Knapp said it was more convenient to drive her car.
Valley Metro will be updating the fare boxes on its buses in early 2006, Tempe officials said. Riegel said if ASU continues with the transit program, the new boxes may be designed so students can use Sun Cards as passes.
Riegel said if the program is successful, ASU and Valley Metro would like to expand it to include light rail.
Reach the reporter at emilia.arnold@asu.edu.
