As part of a five-year plan between the U and UTA to increase student fees for transportation, the average student will have to pay $4.21 more each semester to pay for bus, TRAX and commuter rail passes through the Utah Transit Authority.
This represents an 18-percent increase from the current fee, which is $23.40 for a 15-credit-hour student. Transportation fees vary with the amount of credits students take.
The U needed to increase the fee because transportation costs were rising faster than the consumer price index, said U Associate Vice President for Budget and Planning Paul Brinkman.
Alma Allred, director of Parking and Transportation Services, said that after the five-year plan comes to a close next year, the fees will remain largely unchanged except for inflation. Next year will be the last year of the increase at a higher rate.
Separate from student fees, the amount of money employees have withheld from their paychecks to pay for parking permits has also gone up in the five-year period, from $4.60 per pay period in 2003, to $9.50 per pay period in 2008.
Rochelle McConkie and Dan Treasure