UA students and staff who are holders of the U-Pass were the first people in Tucson to use Sun Tran's new swipe passes and electronic fare boxes, which were installed in buses earlier this month.

The U-Pass is an alternative transportation program, that is jointly run by the University of Arizona's Parking and Transportation Services and Sun Tran, that offers students and staff the opportunity to ride to school at a less expensive rate than regular Sun Tran users.

Parking and Transportation is subsidizing $675,000 this year for the program, said Larry Barton, the associate director of Parking and Transportation Services. About two-thirds of the $675,000 goes directly to Sun Tran for subsidization, and the other one-third goes against the consumer price of the pass, Barton said.

"This is a very viable program for people because of its cost-effectiveness," Barton said.

The U-Pass comes in three varieties: Fall Semester - $40, Academic - $65 (fall and spring semesters) and Annual - $105 (includes summer). Pass prices are prorated as the year progresses, according to a Sun Tran news release.

Yika Riley-Smith, Sun Tran's director of marketing, said the U-Pass program is an inexpensive, alternative mode of transportation for students and staff thanks to the UA's subsidization.

Pass quantities are limited based on subsidy funds, and to qualify for the program, students and graduate research and teaching assistants must enroll in three or more units per semester and must be registered with all fees paid, according to the news release.

All three varieties of the program began on Aug. 12, with the fall semester's running to Dec. 31, the academic year program expiring May 17, 1997, and the annual running until Aug. 11, 1997.

Barton estimated that, to date, 2,200 U-Passes have been sold, compared to about 3,000 passes at this time last year. He also said that about 75 percent of the passes sold this year have been to students.

Simon Andersen, an engineering graduate student, purchased an academic pass because of its cost and convenience. Andersen has a car, but instead of getting on the waiting list for a UA parking permit, he opted for the bus.

"Basically, for me, its door-to-door service, and it's always on time," Andersen said.

Jennie Park, a business senior, also bought an academic pass because of its price and convenience.

"It's (the bus) the easiest and cheapest way to get on campus," Park said.

Fall semester passes will be sold until the end of October. Academic passes will be sold until the end of March, 1997, while the annual passes will be sold until mid-June, 1997, according to Sun Tran documents.

The passes are available at the Main Gate Building, 888 N. Euclid Ave.

The new swipe passes have a magnetic stripe at the bottom front of the pass that stores information about what type of pass it is, the pass price and how long the pass is valid, Riley-Smith said. The new, electronic fare boxes read the new passes, accept dollar bills and report fare paid, Riley-Smith said.

Sun Tran changed to electronic fare boxes to get a more accurate count of who's riding and with what passes, she said.

On Aug. 26, of Sun Tran's 62,816 total passenger trips for the day, 4,146 were from U-Passes, Riley-Smith said.

Currently 12 routes run through the UA, and they are:

• Route 1 (University Boulevard)
• Route 3 (Sixth Street/Wilmot Road)
• Route 4 (Speedway Boulevard)
• Route 5 (Pima Street)
• Route 6 (Park Avenue/First Avenue)
• Route 9 (Grant Road)
• Route 9x (Bear Canyon Express)
• Route 15 (Campbell Avenue)
• Route 20 (West Grant Road)
• Route 102 (Ina Road Express)
• Route 103 (Oldfather Express)
• Route 200 (Downtown/Fourth Avenue)

U-Pass holders riding an express route must use their pass and pay an extra 25 cents.

For Sun Tran route information, riders can call 792-9222.

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