In a pilot program being sponsored by the University and Charlottesville transportation, Charlottesville Transit Service is offering free transportation to University faculty, staff and students for the duration of October.
"During this month, any U.Va. student, faculty, or staff member who presents their U.Va. photo ID rides free," City Marketing Specialist Diane Taylor said.
The program is a demonstration project which will record how many members of the University community use the bus service, Taylor said.
"We're trying to take down the barriers between the two systems and get a feel for how many people would crossover between the two systems," University Parking and Transportation Director Rebecca White said.
White said University and City transportation often work together, and the pilot is an attempt to make the two systems complement one another.
Second-year College student Mallory Kuhlmann said she was "stoked" to hear about the free bus program.
"I would use it because I don't have a car, and CTS goes more places than UTS," she said. "It might spur me to traverse the bubble of the University in which I currently reside."
Although the program began Oct. 1, advertisement has been limited as University attention was focused on the Rolling Stones concert, White said. Results have not yet been gathered about University use for the month. White said at the end of the month, CTS will release data dividing up use based on bus route and time of day.
"It will allow us to make more informed decisions in the future," White said.
Taylor said the trial might be repeated in April to gather more details. The University will pay CTS a discounted rate at the end of the project for all University members who have used the service during the month.
Possible outcomes from the pilot vary from reducing fares for students and faculty members or making certain routes free to students, to opening up ridership on the whole system to students, faculty and students. White said the bus route most likely to interest students was Route 7, which traverses the Interstate 29 shopping district.
The collaboration has been in the works for a long time and is especially timely with the rise in gas prices.
"You want to provide options to people other than pumping gas or building more parking spaces," White said.
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