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MCC Daily Tribune

MCC Students Ride RTS Fare-Free, Anytime, Any Route With New Universal Bus Pass!

MCC has signed an agreement with Regional Transit Service (RTS) to provide students* with unlimited use of bus transportation at no charge for 2018-19.

Starting Monday, Aug. 27, the first day of classes this fall, MCC's new Universal Pass (U-Pass) program will allow full- and part-time students with a valid MCC ID to ride all RTS buses free of charge--any route and anytime including weekends, college breaks and intersession--during the 2018-19 academic year. A new route will also run directly between the Brighton and Downtown campuses, making it convenient for students to get to their classes.

Students simply swipe their MCC ID card when they board the bus. The U-Pass program will be valid only from Aug. 27, 2018 to May 24, 2019.

* Students who take all their classes online or who have all their classes at the Public Safety Training Facility as well as MCC employees are not eligible for the U-Pass but can access bus transportation by paying regular RTS fares ($1 per ride).

During the first year of the U-Pass program, MCC will cover the cost of the service. We will evaluate the program in 2018-2019 and gather student input on the value of the service. The proposed plan for 2019-20 is to eliminate the parking fee and replace it with a transportation fee that will allow students to park at all MCC locations, ride any RTS bus, and access future bike-share services on campus.

MCC is the first college in the Finger Lakes region to have a U-Pass arrangement with RTS.

The RTS routes directly serving MCC campuses are as follows:

  • Route 59 MCC Connector (replaces Route 155 MCC Brighton ROC-IT): It will run directly between Brighton and Downtown campuses and operate Monday through Friday during the entire academic year including breaks and intersession.
  • Route 5 MCC Downtown: This route traveling between the RTS Transit Center and MCC's Downtown Campus will run only when classes are in session Monday through Friday.
  • Route 55 MCC Brighton: This route traveling between the RTS Transit Center and MCC's Brighton Campus will run Monday through Friday during the entire academic year including breaks and intersession.

These routes are not exclusively for MCC students; the general public may use these routes as well.

Route maps and information are available on the RTS website <www.myRTS.com/MCC>.

MCC campus maps display location of RTS bus stops.

Access to reliable, affordable transportation is a significant challenge for many community college students across the country, regardless of whether they're in a rural or more urban setting. It can be the difference in whether a student attends and stays in college. A spring 2018 survey of MCC residence hall students found limited access to transportation is a barrier to access off-campus food sources, employment, health care, and volunteer and social opportunities.

The hope is that the program will make commuting between campuses easier and meet the broader transportation needs of students, including those who live in residence halls on campus. Please regularly check the MCC Daily Tribune for information updates on the U-Pass program.

Heze Simmons

CFO and Vice President, Administrative Services

Julianna Frisch

Office of the President

Julianna Frisch
President's Office
08/21/2018