Approximately 17,000 U students and faculty ride Utah Transit Authority buses and TRAX trains by simply showing their student ID cards.
That may not be the case anymore.
Starting in November, students and faculty will need a second card to use the service.
UTA offers free rides to students and faculty with the UCard. However, due to concerns about past students and faculty using their old UCards to ride, UTA will begin to look for a second card-this one with an expiration date.
“While we don’t believe that our students or faculty would do that, this is [UTA’s] concern,” said Alma Allred, director of U parking services.
“Last year, during peak times there were 10,000 UCard holders riding per day,”Allred said.
The service will continue to be offered free to students, but a second card will have to be produced in order to ride.
The U is willing to work with UTA to sort out the conflict.
“We receive quite a discount on the fares,” he said.
UTA will provide a second card to students that will expire one year from the date of issue. Both the UCard and the new UTA card will be required to ride on TRAX or buses.
The U will be distributing the new card at several locations and is requiring “ample time” from UTA to get the cards into the hands of the students and faculty before it becomes a requirement.
UTA is tentatively planning to require the new card starting Nov. 1.
Some U students are bothered by the inconvenience imposed by the new policy.
“I have never once been carded [on TRAX]. I would be irate,” said U junior Krystal Bernard.