U-Pass gives commuters
alternative to driving

In the face of today’s gas prices and increasing traffic snarls, you may be thinking it’s time to ditch that car and find a more affordable way to get around town. Or, maybe you already have.

Take Dr. Carmine Prioli, for example.

Earlier this year a colleague told Prioli about U-Pass, a program that allows NC State faculty, staff and student to ride buses operated by Capital Area Transit (CAT) and Triangle Transit Authority (TTA) for free. So one day in September, the English professor gave the program and TTA’s Express Service from Chapel Hill to Raleigh a try. Since then, he’s been riding the bus to work almost every day.

“Just being spared the stress of driving on Interstate 40 thousands of miles a year is a big bonus,” Prioli said. “It takes me no longer to commute to work with the bus than it does when I drive. In fact, sometimes the bus is faster.”

In addition to saving time, Dr. David Ollis, Distinguished Professor of Chemsitry, said the U-Pass program helps him save money.

He began using the U-Pass program in October, when gas prices were about $2.33 a gallon. Ollis said his commute from Chapel Hill to Raleigh and back is about 72 miles. If his vehicle gets 24 miles per gallon and he drives to work about 250 days out of the year, Ollis calculates that he would spend more than $1,700 in a year just for gas, not including costs for car maintenance.

“Factoring in income taxes and all other deductions,” Ollis said he could save about “$3,000 pre-tax per year” by riding the bus.

“What’s not to like about that?” he added.

And Prioli and Ollis don’t seem to be the only recent new users of the free U-Pass program. During August, September and October, U-Pass users took 31,900 trips on buses. That’s an increase of 31 percent from Fall 2004 (24,200), according to NC State’s Transportation Department.

Adena Messinger, transportation planner for NC State’s Transportation Department, said increased gas prices, new express routes offered by TTA, and “getting the word out to the campus community” have helped increased the use of U-Pass.

“We are thrilled we are seeing consistent growth in the number of transit trips by the NC State community, and it is great that we can work with TTA and CAT to provide this benefit,” Messinger said. “We have supported it for the past four years because we strongly believe in the merit and benefit of the program.”

To take advantage of U-Pass, which began in 2002, NC State faculty, staff and students must present a valid university ID to the bus driver. During CAT’s and TTA’s normal operations, there are no limits on the number of rides, the destinations and the times for U-Pass users.

“At the risk of sounding too enthusiastic, I will say (TTA’s) express bus between Chapel Hill and Raleigh is a dream come true,” Prioli said.

For more information about U-Pass and other commuter options, visit www.ncsu.edu/wolftrails. For schedule and route information for CAT, which is operated by the City of Raleigh, visit www.raleigh-nc.org/transit or call 832-5815. Information about TTA, which provides service in Wake, Durham and Orange counties, can be found by visiting www.ridetta.org or by calling 549-9999.

Posted Dec. 9, 2005

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