RTD student bus pass costly for some, benefit for others

Do you ride the bus? Or are you sick of paying for a pass you never use? The CU bus pass is a mandatory fee on all student bills, whether you use it or not.

Students at CU-Boulder must pay a mandatory bus pass fee as part of their student fees each semester. For this academic year that fee is $72.

The mandatory fee added to tuition bill

The bus pass fee is included in every student’s tuition bill, due to the structure of the bus pass program.

“The reason it’s a mandatory student fee, and it’s assessed to all students, is because of the way the RTD contract is structured. ... RTD offers us the pricing that we receive on the basis that it’s a bulk purchase… In order to be a bulk purchase, it needs to be for the entire student body,” said Bus Pass Program Coordinator Peter Roper. “With every student contributing, RTD made about $3.9 million last year from CU-Boulder’s bus pass fees.”

Pass saves students money

If a student were to purchase a monthly pass through RTD directly, it would cost a minimum of $70 per month. With the bus pass program, CU students only pay that per semester (approximately four months).

Many students see this as a good deal and use their bus passes for school, work and recreational commuting. “It is convenient, it is helpful. I’d still get a bus pass, because you know, it’s very nice to get around. But having it provided by the university really does provide a convenience for us,” said John Fitzgerald, an avid bus rider.

Student commuter concerns

Not all students are in favor of the bus pass program. The Parking and Transportation Services office sells more than 3,000 student parking permits to commuters every year. Most of those students live off-campus and drive themselves to school.

A majority of these students don’t use their provided bus pass on a regular basis; at least not enough to make it worth the money. “I don’t take the bus and I still have to pay for it. It’s kind of a ridiculous cost that I have to pay for even though I’m not utilizing it. I wish the passes were optional, it would be a lot easier for everybody,” said Heidi Park, a student commuter.

A few special circumstances

Roper said there are certain criteria that would allow a student to waive the fee.

• The first is if you already have a pass. The Ecopass program is provided through some employers and neighborhoods. If you already have a pass, you don’t need another one through CU.

• The second reason is if you cannot access RTD’s services. This would include people who live outside of the RTD service area, or people who have disabilities and cannot ride the bus.

In order to waive the fee, a student must contact Roper at the Environmental Center for further instruction. It takes about 10 business days to have the fee removed from the tuition statement.

Good for the environment

Whether or not students choose to use the bus pass, the Environmental Center supports the idea of using mass transit. Overall, with students and the general public, ridership numbers are down from last year. Roper, along with others, encourages the use of the bus pass for any occasion. “It doesn’t have to be used, for example, between nine to five. It can be used on the weekends to get to the ski resorts. It can be used to get to Denver at night for a concert or something. So it’s very very flexible,” said Roper.

History of fee increases

The bus pass program at CU started in 1991, at a minimal cost of around $10 per semester. Over the years, RTD has slowly raised the price per student, based on ridership. But the students only get a say on the matter if RTD raises the fee more than 10 percent.

“According to the [University of Colorado Staff Council] rules, any increase over 10 percent requires a return to the student vote. Under 10 percent requires approval from the tri-execs and then the finance boards,” said Roper. “Over the last 15 years that the fee has been in place, we’ve gone back to the vote a handful of times, but not every time.” As long as RTD’s rates increase in increments lower than 10 percent, the students don’t get a say in whether or not they continue in the bus pass program each year.

Future Contracts

With ridership numbers on the decline, it is likely that next year’s bus pass fee will not increase. But officials are working on the exact numbers over the next month and will determine figures for the contract in March. The Regents will get a final vote in June, just in time for the 2010-2011 academic year billing statements.