In April, more than 1 million people rode the light rail, with 1,044,135 tickets purchased.
But ASU students didn’t have to shell out the cash for any of those rides because of Parking and Transit’s U-Pass.
Despite our better judgment, we hoped the adage “There’s no such thing as a free lunch” would continue to ring false in terms of the light rail.
Sadly for us, the free lunch is probably over. Parking and Transit Services, which has previously provided students with free light rail and bus passes, is most likely going to ask us to pony up the dough come next year.
The passes given out last academic year were supposed to expire June 30, though that date was pushed up to May 27 near the end of the semester. Only students registered for summer classes qualified for passes that last through the first session of summer. No decision has yet been made on what students taking classes during second session will do.
Starting last summer, university employees had to start paying for their U-Passes, at an annual rate of $260 or $390 for an express pass. For the 2009-2010 academic year, the passes will go up to $390 for a regular pass and $520 for the express pass, available for purchase this month. The higher prices coincide with price hikes from Valley Metro.
Soon students will more than likely face the same fate. Officials from PTS say the pass may cost students up to $100 next year, which — all things considered — is a good deal.
Starting July 1, a one-way trip on the light rail will cost $1.75 and an all-day pass will set us back $3.50. For students who have to take the rail multiple times a week during the semester, that adds up. Riding three days a week costs $10.50 with the new rates. That adds up to $100 after just a few months.
Of course the idea of paying our own way isn’t the happiest. It’s hard to pay for something you’ve come to believe is free. But Parking and Transit, which gets no funding from the university or the state, can’t be expected to pony up the dough forever. That dough comes up to $250,000 a month.
In the fall and spring of the last academic year, around 27,000 students received U-Passes. All told, PTS paid between $1.5 million and $1.8 million for the Valley Metro passes.
Each tap of a U-Pass costs PTS $0.92, and while that’s just mere change, when multiplied by a couple hundred thousand, that’s “a lot of fries,” as Theresa Fletcher from PTS so aptly put it.
And honestly, paying $100 a year isn’t so bad compared to what the full price would be for someone making the trek downtown weekly.
