UMD and the Duluth Transit Authority (DTA) are renewing their UPass agreement for another five years, continuing their partnership through August 31, 2022.
The UPass allows full time students to ride the bus to campus and around the Twin Ports. It’s paid for with the $12.50 transportation fee that students are assessed each semester. Employees can purchase a UPass for $60.
"Our new agreement with DTA will improve what is already an extremely successful program at UMD,” says Patrick Keenan, director of Student Life Operations.
Nearly 7,000 UMD students and employees use the UPass every year, riding the bus 400,000 times per year.
“Our students, faculty, and staff value the bus service, and the partnership supports our campus sustainability goals in significant ways," says Vice Chancellor for Student Life Lisa Erwin.
In addition to mass transportation being environmentally-friendly, the UPass program uses hybrid and bio-diesel busses and there are bike-racks to encourage bikers to bus up Duluth’s hills, rather than drive.
Easing the Pinch
Parking, always an issue on college campuses, is an especially hot topic at UMD this fall. Construction for the Chemistry and Advanced Materials Science building means 300 less parking spaces are available in one of the lots.
The DTA is easing the pinch by introducing two new bus routes to UMD for the 2017-18 school year, bringing to total to seven. The Lakeside to the mall via UMD and the UMD Circulator will start running in August.
“With the addition of the two new routes that directly serve the campus and Duluth neighborhoods, we are looking forward to increased ridership which will help decrease the pressure being felt in our parking lots," says Keenan.
UMD and the DTA initiated their partnership in 2000.