By Jonny Geigle, Jason Ethridge and Joshua Phelps
The Scene staff
The Forest Park U-Pass program allows students to use public transportation for free, but only 16 percent are taking advantage of it.
Some 5,321 students are enrolled in classes this fall. Only 826 students had obtained U-Passes as of Sept. 14, four weeks into the semester.
“A lot of students, if they have a car, they feel they don’t need it,” said Ena Primous, manager of campus business services. “If they have some other type of transportation, they feel they don’t need it.”
Primous expects another 300 to 400 more students to sign up for U-Passes by the end of the academic year. She sees the program as a valuable tool to help students succeed.
“Making it to school, making it to work, making it to child care … It’s a universal pass that they can use for their daily lives,” Primous said. “It will help them succeed into getting their degrees.”
St. Louis Community College students pay $1 per credit hour for the U-Pass program as part of the registration process. Those who pick up U-Passes can ride MetroLink and Metro buses for free.
Forest Park general transfer student Willnelle Warren, 20, has been getting U-Passes for the past two years.
“Those dollars coming back really add up,” he said. “I used to spend like $30 a week just on bus fare.”
If purchased, Metro passes cost $78 a month.
General studies student Tullaia Powell, 16, knows about U-Passes, but she didn’t get one this semester.
“I get a ride from somebody who works nearby and just carpool,” she said. “It’s easier.”
Five colleges and universities in St. Louis have U-Pass programs. That includes STLCC, Washington University, University of Missouri-St. Louis, Webster University and St. Louis University.
Costs to schools vary, depending on individual programs. Some give U-Passes to all students, some give them to select students and some give them to faculty and students.
“We offer this to schools because it’s an incredible incentive,” said Jerry Vallely, external communications manager for Metro.
“It gives students and faculty a great way to get to school easily and efficiently and have access to a transportation system that they can use to go to destinations across the region.”
STLCC created its U-Pass program in 2015. That fall, Forest Park heavily promoted it, posting signs around campus at the beginning of the semester. Some 1,677 students out of 5,254 enrolled participated (about 32 percent).
Since that time, participation has dropped. In the fall of 2016, 1,448 out of 5,440 students participated (about 27 percent). In the fall of 2017, 1,099 out of 5,430 students participated (20 percent).
Officials still display signs at the beginning of each semester, reminding students to get U-Passes, Primous said. Information also is posted on the STLCC website and on Blackboard.
“I go and talk to instructors and try to get them to put it in their syllabi or mention it in class at the beginning of the semester,” Primous said.
Vallely didn’t immediately have figures on U-Pass participation rates at other colleges and universities in St. Louis. About 115,000 students and faculty participate in the entire metro area.