Lextran to be free for all students, staff
June 17, 2015
By Will Wright
In a new partnership between the university and Lextran, UK students, faculty and staff can ride all Lextran routes for free by showing their Wildcard ID starting July 1.
UK will pay $160,000 for the first year of the deal.
Student body vice president Jenna Hollinden said she is excited that the program, called U-PASS, will make it easier for the 70 percent of students without a car on campus to get groceries, to go to the mall and to integrate with the surrounding city.
“I remember when I was a freshman having to ask people for rides to get to the grocery store,” Hollinden said. “And I hated asking people for help.”
Students, who make up 17 percent of Lextran riders, would normally pay a discount price of $75 for an academic year pass, but faculty and staff had to pay the full price of $30 for a 30-day pass.
Hollinden said that when she moved off-campus, as 76 percent of UK students do, she often thought of people who lived out of walking distance and the troubles they face.
Parking on campus is notoriously difficult, but the U-PASS program is the first step of UK’s Transportation Master Plan, a long-term project to make commuting and parking easier.
With more parking spots coming to campus and U-PASS encouraging people to drive, the Transportation Master Plan may help ease traffic caused by ongoing construction projects along Avenue of Champions and Alumni Drive.
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“Our campus is undergoing a transformation,” UK President Eli Capilouto said at a news conference on Tuesday morning. Lexington mayor Jim Gray said similar benefits could take shape in the city as more and more people use public transportation, bike or walk to their workplaces.
“Like the university, our city is growing, and responsible growth is good. It also means we will have some growing pains, like increased traffic congestion,” Gray said.
In reply, Capilouto held up his Wildcard ID and said downtown traffic backups may get a break with the help of U-PASS.
“We know that traffic is something we have to work on every day,” Gray said. “Progress will take all of us working together.”
Hollinden hopes for other benefits like safety and unity. Though she thinks UK is safe, Hollinden said people may feel safer with the U-PASS than walking home from campus.
“Any time we make students feel safer … that’s a win,” Hollinden said.
She also hopes for more connection with the surrounding city. Lexington is growing and vibrant, and the U-PASS can be one more way to bring the two communities together, she said.
“There are so many big college towns that are so intertwined with the city,” Hollinden said. “It’s hard to imagine what Lexington would look like without the University of Kentucky.”
An unexpected result may be students socializing more with faculty and staff. Hollinden said she thinks the two groups, though usually seperate, should interact more, and the bus may help unite them.
“It’s neat to hear a little bit about where everyone came from,” Hollinden said.
